Ibiden Raises Full-Year Outlook After Operating Profit Jumps 84.6% to 60.116 Billion Yen
Key Facts
Ibiden posted sales of 262.546 billion yen and operating profit of 60.116 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 2026, which ran from April to September, according to the company's published results. Profit attributable to owners of the parent rose to 38.574 billion yen. Year on year, sales increased 34.3%, operating profit rose 84.6%, and profit attributable to owners of the parent climbed 74.8%. The results come amid growing demand for the company's high-value products, particularly those designed for AI server applications. On October 29, Ibiden raised its outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, citing performance in the electronics segment that exceeded its previous expectations.
A comparison with the first half of the previous fiscal year shows the scale of the acceleration in results: sales rose from 195.485 billion yen to 262.546 billion yen. Operating profit climbed from 32.573 billion yen to 60.116 billion yen, while profit attributable to owners of the parent increased from 22.069 billion yen to 38.574 billion yen. The electronics segment was central to this improvement, with sales of 172.540 billion yen, up 52.0% year on year. Its operating profit rose to 50.028 billion yen, an increase of 96.7%. The ceramics segment also recorded growth, with sales of 46.156 billion yen and operating profit of 5.391 billion yen, up 16.3% and 40.4% year on year, respectively.
Ibiden said the electronics segment exceeded its previous expectations as the product mix improved and orders increased for high-value products, particularly those designed for AI server applications. It added that foreign exchange rates continued to move in the direction of a weaker yen. Accordingly, the company raised its sales outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, to 565 billion yen. It also raised its operating profit outlook to 133 billion yen and its outlook for profit attributable to owners of the parent to 89 billion yen. These levels represent increases of 2.7%, 4.7% and 6.0%, respectively, compared with its previous outlook.
The company expects demand to remain solid for AI server and general-purpose server products, with demand for switching circuit products also expanding. In its results presentation, it forecast continued growth in demand for graphics processing units and integrated circuits designed for inference in AI applications. It also raised its outlook for demand for advanced server CPUs as AI applications expand in inference and agentic systems. Ibiden links its capacity expansion plans to the evolution of AI use from training to inference and then agentic AI. It says demand for high-performance CPU packaging substrates is likely to increase with this shift.
As part of its expansion, Ibiden announced a planned investment of about 151 billion yen in the Gamma plant and overseas sites to increase production of high-performance integrated circuit substrates. It said operations and mass production will begin gradually from fiscal 2029. It also announced an additional 150 billion yen investment on top of a previous investment of 220 billion yen in the Gamma Cell 6 facility. The project targets advanced packaging substrates for custom AI chips, with operations set to begin gradually from fiscal 2029. These plans put production capacity expansion at the center of the company's response to its demand outlook for server products and chips.
On shareholder returns, Ibiden raised its interim dividend for the fiscal year ending in March 2027 to 10 yen per share after the stock split, compared with a previous outlook of 7.50 yen. The company decided to begin payment on November 25, 2026. The dividend is part of a gradual policy covering the fiscal year ended in March 2026 through the year ending in March 2031. The policy is guided by a payout ratio of 20% of earnings. Ibiden said its financial outlook was prepared based on information and assumptions available at the time, and actual results may differ due to factors including the global economy, competition and foreign exchange fluctuations.
Despite the higher full-year outlook and strong results, Ibiden shares fell 13.5% in spot trading after the results announcement, according to coverage published by Investing.com on November 1, 2026. The report linked the market reaction to management's caution about future pricing assumptions. The share move came as the company presented higher revenue and profit outlooks and planned major investments in production capacity. Interim dividend payments are scheduled to begin on November 25, 2026. The company also aims to begin the gradual start-up of its expansion projects from fiscal 2029.