Hoya Announces First Quarter Financial Results

HOYA Corporation (TOKYO:7741) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014. For the quarter under review, group sales increased 12.6% to 113,071 million yen compared with the same period last year. Profits before tax were up 11.5% to 22,443 million yen, and profits for the quarter increased 45.6% to 17,962 million yen.

In the Information Technology segment, products related to smartphones and tablet PCs such as mask blanks for LSI and photomasks for LCD, and glass disks for HDDs, posted steady sales, but optical products for digital cameras continued to post sluggish sales. For the quarter, sales for the Information Technology segment increased by 7.7% to 42,025 million yen, and segment profits before tax stood at 12,873 million yen, an increase of 45.0% compared with the same period last year.

In the Life Care segment, sales of eyeglass lenses increased due mainly to gaining new customers in overseas markets and the inclusion of Seiko Optical Products, a sales company of SEIKO eye wear, as a consolidated subsidiary. Endoscope business sales also increased with solid performance in the United States and Asian markets. On the other hand, the contact lens retail business posted year-on-year declines in sales because of the anticipated decreased consumer demand related to the planned Japanese government’s March tax hike. For the quarter, sales for the Life Care segment increased by 15.9% to 70,433 million yen, and segment profits before tax were 11,659 million yen, an increase of 28.8% compared to the same period last year.

“We are pleased with the profitable structure of our Information Technology segment, despite the continuing pressures and negative business environment for these products,” said Hiroshi Suzuki, chief executive officer of HOYA. “We continue to focus on growing sales in our eyeglass business by multiple brand strategy and M&A, and in endoscope business by expanding the geographical coverage.”

HOYA also announced the forecast for the first six months ending September 30, 2014 as shown below.

About HOYA
Founded in 1941 in Japan, Hoya is a global company focused on products for the healthcare and high-technology uses. In the Life Care area, Hoya’s products include eyeglasses, medical endoscopes, intraocular lenses and surgical instruments. Hoya is also a leader in the Information Technology area and provides key components for semiconductor devices, LCD panels and HDDs. Hoya currently employs over 35,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.hoya.com.