Lasertec Orders More Than Double to ¥237.5 Billion Even as FY6/2026 Operating Profit Falls 14%

Lasertec Corporation (TSE: 6920), the Yokohama-based maker of inspection and metrology systems for semiconductor manufacturing and the only company in the world supplying actinic inspection systems for EUV mask blanks and patterned masks, reported consolidated results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026 under Japanese accounting standards. Net sales fell 8.3% to ¥230,485 million, operating profit dropped 14.3% to ¥105,259 million, ordinary profit slipped 9.7% to ¥107,895 million and net profit attributable to owners of the parent declined 8.5% to ¥77,485 million. Basic earnings per share came to ¥862.99, against ¥938.61 a year earlier; diluted EPS was ¥862.26.

Orders more than double — the number that matters

The headline declines say more about last year than about this one. Revenue at Lasertec is recognised long after the order is booked, and FY6/2026 sales were shipped out of an order book built during a weak FY6/2025. That order book has now turned decisively: orders received recovered to ¥237,504 million from ¥105,226 million, an increase of more than 125% and comfortably above the year's revenue. Management attributes the swing to vigorous customer investment aimed at deploying and popularising agentic AI, which has pushed AI data-centre demand sharply higher and lifted demand for leading-edge logic and memory — CPUs, GPUs and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in particular — to a high level. Because Lasertec's actinic EUV mask inspection tools sit at the front of that leading-edge supply chain, the order intake is the cleanest available read on how much capacity its customers intend to add.

Margins hold above 45% despite the sales decline

Profitability compressed but stayed exceptional by industry standards. The operating margin narrowed to 45.7% from 48.8%, still leaving ¥105,259 million of operating profit on ¥230,485 million of sales. Ordinary profit fell less than operating profit — down 9.7% against 14.3% — as non-operating items, largely foreign-exchange and interest income, added ¥2,636 million above the operating line. Net profit attributable to owners of the parent fell 8.5% to ¥77,485 million and comprehensive income was more resilient still, down just 3.6% to ¥80,061 million. Return on equity fell to 33.9% from 46.9% and ordinary profit to total assets to 32.4% from 39.8% — both compressed as much by the sharp increase in the equity base as by the decline in profit. For context, the prior year had been a boom year, with sales up 17.8%, operating profit up 51.0% and net profit up 43.3%.

Service revenue growth cushions the equipment downturn

The mix shifted markedly. Semiconductor-related equipment sales fell 17.2% to ¥168,090 million and other products dropped 32.5% to ¥3,747 million, but services grew 36.5% to ¥58,646 million — a reminder that the installed base keeps generating maintenance, upgrade and support revenue regardless of the shipment cycle. Services now account for a quarter of group revenue, up from roughly 17% a year earlier, and their growth offset almost a third of the decline in equipment sales. On a parent-company (non-consolidated) basis, net sales fell 16.2% to ¥202,933 million, operating profit 24.7% to ¥91,146 million, ordinary profit 20.4% to ¥94,028 million and net profit 18.9% to ¥67,873 million, with EPS of ¥755.93 — the wider parent-level decline underlining how much of the year's service growth was carried by group subsidiaries.

Balance sheet strengthens as advances received unwind

Total assets edged up ¥7,048 million to ¥336,650 million from ¥329,601 million, with cash and deposits adding ¥5,416 million and notes and accounts receivable plus contract assets ¥2,173 million, partly offset by a ¥1,222 million reduction in work in process. Total liabilities fell ¥29,901 million to ¥89,800 million, driven by a ¥20,104 million decline in advances received — customer prepayments released as tools shipped — and a ¥13,352 million drop in income taxes payable. Shareholders' equity rose ¥34,374 million to ¥242,310 million: net profit of ¥77,485 million less dividends of ¥31,131 million and treasury-share purchases of ¥12,003 million. Net assets reached ¥246,850 million from ¥209,900 million and the equity ratio jumped to 73.3% from 63.7%, while book value per share climbed to ¥2,753.84 from ¥2,327.06. Operating cash flow was ¥48,540 million, down 37.7% from ¥77,874 million as the advances-received unwind flowed through working capital; investing outflows were a modest ¥1,883 million and financing outflows ¥43,181 million, up from ¥24,568 million, on the dividend and buyback. Cash and equivalents ended the year at ¥91,503 million.

Guidance points to a sharp rebound, and the dividend rises to ¥351

For FY6/2027 Lasertec guides to net sales of ¥290,000 million, up 25.8%, operating profit of ¥125,000 million (+18.8%), ordinary profit of ¥125,000 million (+15.9%) and net profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥90,000 million, up 16.2%, with EPS of ¥1,004.12. The implied operating margin of 43.1% is slightly below FY6/2026, consistent with a heavier equipment mix as the doubled order book converts to shipments. Management expects continued uncertainty from geopolitical risk affecting energy prices and from major-country policy, but expects demand for leading-edge semiconductors to remain at a high level on aggressive AI-related investment. On the dividend, Lasertec targets a consolidated payout ratio of around 35% under a flexible, earnings-linked policy. The FY6/2026 annual dividend was ¥329.00 — ¥132.00 interim and ¥197.00 year-end, ¥29,488 million in total, a 38.1% payout — unchanged in total from FY6/2025's ¥329.00 but redistributed between the two payments. For FY6/2027 the company forecasts ¥351.00, comprising ¥140.00 at the interim and ¥211.00 at the year-end, a 35.0% payout ratio. Dividend payments begin September 28, 2026; the annual general meeting is scheduled for September 25, 2026 and the securities report for September 24, 2026.

JapanStockPulse provides informational content only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures are taken from the company's published earnings short report and may be subject to subsequent revision.