<7220> Musashi Seimitsu 2057 +151

Significant rebound. SMBC Nikko Securities has released a visit report of its subsidiary, Musashi Energy Solutions. It proposes a "power peak cut" solution to reduce power consumption for AI servers using hybrid supercapacitors (HSC). It is also the first company in the world to successfully mass-produce them without any competition and is therefore creating a new market with business expansion aimed at increasing AI servers.

<3038> Kobe Bussan 3858 -29

Continued decline. The company released its June monthly report on a standalone basis yesterday. Operating profit decreased by 6.4% year-on-year to 2.53 billion yen, and monthly operating profit decline was the first time in 16 months. This is due to sluggish growth in existing store shipments and a deterioration in gross profit margin. Existing store shipment results increased by 3.1% year-on-year, but the growth rate was the lowest since the 24th fiscal year of October. Gross profit margin was 9.8%, and it deteriorated from the same month and the previous month of the previous year. It is believed to be due to the depreciation of the yen and the rise in raw material prices.

<7388> FP Partner 3045 -200

Sell dominant. Mito Securities has downgraded its investment rating from "A" to "B+" and lowered its target stock price from 6,700 yen to 4,000 yen. Although it is expecting a recovery in the second half of the 2024 fiscal year, it has revised downward its full-year performance forecast. The forecast for operating profit has been lowered from 7.8 billion yen to 6.6 billion yen, slightly below the company's plan. Furthermore, there has been no impact on the traffic generated by critical media articles, such as June's record high for life insurance new contracts.

<7453> Ryohin Keikaku 2893 +55

Continues surge to reach a new high. It announced that it will increase the prices of 41 grocery items, including confectioneries sold at "Muji Ryohin" stores, from September 20. The price hike will average around 20%. This is the first major price hike since January 2023. The announcement is in response to the increase in purchasing costs caused by the rise of raw material costs such as cocoa beans and coffee beans, as well as the weakening of the yen. The company states that it will "consider appropriate prices from the perspective of consumers, strive to maintain appropriate quality while reducing costs related to production and distribution".

<8306> Mitsubishi UFJ 1769 +22

Significant rebound. The banking sector showed strong movement today, with the second highest increase rate in the industry after marine shipping. Secretary General Shoji Mokuzaki of the Liberal Democratic Party commented in a speech the prior day that there was a need to more clearly convey the policy of normalizing monetary policy, including a phased interest rate hike, regarding the Bank of Japan. He expressed concern over the scenario in which high prices caused by the depreciation of the yen would continue. Mr. Mokuzaki is also said to be considering running in the LDP presidential election in September, and it seems that the early anticipation of a higher interest rate by the Bank of Japan is being speculated.

<6594> Nidec 6787 -25

A stalemate. It announced that its motors will be adopted for the propulsion and gimbal camera control of the autonomous flying drone "Skydio X10" released by the US drone maker Skydio. Positive attention was given to the expansion of motor products. On the other hand, today's first quarter earnings announcement and earnings conference are being held, and there seems to be a hesitant mood. For the fiscal year ended March 2024, there were also costs for structural reform, and the actual value fell short of the plan, and the guidance was below the market expectations.

A stalemate. Today, semiconductor-related stocks, including the company, are mostly rising. In the US market, there has been a move to unwind the Trump trade, and the SOX index rose 4% the previous day. There is also a strong trend towards buying on dips in the domestic-related shares. As for the company, the issue price for its stocks was decided at 4,578 yen the previous day, and there seems to be a move to buy back its stocks. It began its own share buyback period from today.

A stalemate. In the semiconductor sector, including the company, there has been a general upward trend in the stock prices today. In the US market, there has been a move to unwind the Trump trade, and the SOX index rose 4% the previous day. There is also a strong trend towards buying on dips among domestic-related shares. Regarding the company, the sale price of its stocks was decided at 4,578 yen the previous day, and there seems to be a move to buy back its stocks. In addition, the company has started its own share buyback period today.

<7256> Kasai Kogyo 219 +13

Significant rebound. It has risen up to 51 yen temporarily. The delayed earnings for the 2024 fiscal year were announced the day before. The operating profit significantly improved from a loss of 13.8 billion yen in the 2023 fiscal year to 2.25 billion yen, greatly exceeding the previous plan of 1 billion yen. It seems that the effect of revising sales prices and suppressing personnel expenses has been achieved. For the 2025 fiscal year, it is expected to be 4.8 billion yen, which is 2.1 times the previous year. It seems to be expected that the effect of fundamental profit improvement measures such as implementation will continue.

<5101> Bridgestone 3539 +259

Significant rebound. It announced that it has signed a contract to acquire tire business for mining and construction vehicles of the US firm Goodyear. The acquisition price is $0.905 billion, and the acquisition is planned to be completed subject to approval by relevant authorities. The sales for the acquired business in the fiscal year ending in 2023 are $0.678 billion. The company's medium-term plan listed programmatic M&A as one of the growth strategies for its OHT (Off Highway Tire) business and is expected to be evaluated as an extension of that strategy.

<9101> Yuusen 4825 +364

Significant rebound. The company announced an upward revision of its financial estimates the previous day. The first-half recurring profit was raised from the previous estimate of 140 billion yen to 270 billion yen, and the full-year recurring profit was raised from 250 billion yen to 410 billion yen. The use of the Cape of Good Hope route due to the Red Sea situation has led to a shortage of container ships and higher freight rates than initially expected, and they expect to improve the profitability of ONE, a equity-method affiliate. Shipping companies such as Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Kawasaki Kisen are also expected to benefit from their joint investment in ONE.