Pentax 2015 Annual Report Download - page 8

Performance in Fiscal 2015
Information Technology (IT) Segment Reports Major Increases in Sales and Income
As a result of structural reforms we have been implementing since the previous fiscal year, we have transformed
our business structure and are now able to maintain profitability even in markets where substantial growth is not
expected. In addition, with the exception of the imaging-related products business, other markets have been
stronger than we initially assumed. As a consequence, sales of the IT segment amounted to ¥180.1 billion, 13.1%
above the previous fiscal year, and segment profit was ¥57.3 billion, representing a gain of 59.8% year on year.
Analysis by product within the IT segment shows that glass substrates for hard disk drives (HDDs) turned in the
strongest performance. Initially, we had assumed that the notebook PC market would shrink, but, with the terminal
of Microsoft’s support for Window XP, demand for the replacement of existing PCs was stronger than we had
forecast. Among non-PC applications also, demand was firm, including sales of external HDDs, and, along with the
trend toward larger memory capacity requirements, the number of disks per HDD is increasing. Moreover, demand
for HOYA’s glass disks for use in servers and game consoles continued to be firm. As a result, major increases in
sales and profit were reported for glass substrates for HDDs.
Among semiconductor-related products, owing to favorable
conditions in the semiconductor industry throughout the fiscal
year, semiconductor manufacturers, who are the principal
customers for HOYA’s semiconductor-related products,
continued to engage in the active development of cutting-edge
technologies. This resulted in firm demand for higher-priced items
and contributed to improvement in the product mix and profits.
Demand for middle- to low-end products, such as those for
infrastructure and installation in automobiles, was also strong.
Accordingly, unit volume of sales and unit prices held firm,
resulting in an increase in sales year on year.
In the liquid crystal display (LCD) related businesses, demand for
high-precision, high-resolution photomasks for LCDs used in
smartphones and tablet computers continued to be favorable.
Demand for photomasks for 4K and large LCDs for TVs was also
strong, and sales rose year on year.
In the imaging-related products business, the market for digital
cameras, which are the main application for HOYA products in this business, is shrinking, and HOYA is
endeavoring to reduce its dependence on this application. Specific measures include focusing on new
applications, such as surveillance cameras, compact “action cameras” for recording sports and other outdoor
activities, and automobile-mounted cameras. We are making steady progress in this area, and profitability in this
business increased year on year.
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