Ajinomoto Healthcare Segment Profit Jumps 57.8% as Electronic Materials Sales Grow
Key Facts
Ajinomoto raised its profit forecast for the healthcare and other businesses segment for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, by ¥11 billion, and cut its forecast for the frozen foods segment by ¥3 billion, according to a company filing on Nov. 9. The company left its forecast for the seasonings and foods segment unchanged. The revisions followed first-half results, with company sales rising 12.5% year over year to ¥831.162 billion in the six months ended Sept. 30. Business profit increased 25.2% to ¥108.603 billion over the same period. Profit attributable to owners of the parent also rose 43.1% to ¥73.311 billion, compared with ¥51.245 billion a year earlier.
The healthcare and other businesses segment was Ajinomoto’s leading growth driver. Segment sales rose 22.0% year over year to ¥192.7 billion in the first half, while profit increased 57.8% to ¥47.4 billion. The company linked revenue growth to strong sales of electronic materials within its functional materials business. In its filing, it said revenue from these materials recorded a "significant increase." By contrast, the company lowered its frozen foods segment profit forecast, reflecting divergent performance across its businesses during the period.
Ajinomoto boosted the expected cash return to shareholders, raising its projected annual dividend to ¥52 per share for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027. The revised outlook includes an interim dividend of ¥26 per share, compared with a previous forecast of ¥25. The company had previously projected an annual dividend of ¥50 per share. The dividend increase coincides with the earnings forecast revisions, but does not reverse the cut to the frozen foods segment forecast. The figures show differing trends across the company’s segments, with strong growth in healthcare and other businesses.
Ajinomoto’s results come amid broader moves by Japanese component suppliers tied to technology infrastructure, although the timing of announcements and profit measures differ among companies. On Oct. 30, Murata said it would expand global production capacity for multilayer ceramic capacitors in response to medium- and long-term demand growth. The company said the capacitors are essential components in devices including phones, cars, industrial equipment and data centers, and that its plan aims to meet rising demand from data centers. Murata plans to invest about ¥1 trillion over 5 years, from fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2030, to expand production. It expects sales of these capacitors in fiscal 2030 to be at least double their fiscal 2025 level.
The next construction step in Murata’s plan is in Okayama, where the company intends to begin work on a new capacitor production building in April 2027, targeting completion by the end of 2028. The plan shows that Murata’s response to demand involves increasing production capacity over the coming years. In Japan’s market, chip stocks posted mixed performance after earnings announcements, amid elevated expectations and concerns about artificial intelligence spending, according to a report on corporate results. The report said the Nikkei fell 2.1% on Oct. 30, under pressure from spending concerns and the Bank of Japan’s stance. Ajinomoto shares closed at 30.73 on Nov. 6, according to EL7 data.