My name is Taguchi, Executive Officer and General Manager of the Finance Unit. I'll be giving you an outline of financial results for fiscal year 2024. Slide four, please. This is the consolidated income statement. Net sales were flat year on year at JPY 406.7 billion. Gross profit slightly decreased to JPY 27.3 billion. Due to the yen appreciating to JPY 142 per $1 by the end of September, our gross profit margin slightly decreased to 6.7%. Operating profit remained almost flat at JPY 12.4 billion, but ordinary profit decreased by JPY 6 billion compared to the same period last year, resulting in JPY 19.3 billion. The decline in ordinary profit was also due to the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated assets and liabilities caused by the strong yen.
Meanwhile, profit attributable to owners of the parent remained flat year- on- year at JPY 12.7 billion due to a decrease in the effective tax rate. Progress in net sales to operating profit is slightly below 50% of the full-year forecast. Page five, please. This is the segment information for the first half. In the Total Engineering Business, a decrease in revenue from the domestic life sciences sector was offset by an increase in that from the overseas chemical sector, resulting in net sales remaining flat year on year at JPY 378.2 billion, with segment profit at JPY 11.8 billion. In the Functional Materials Manufacturing Business, although there were signs of demand recovery, particularly for fine chemical products, electronic materials, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment parts, catalyst-related sales did not reach the last year's level, resulting in overall sales remaining flat year- on- year.
Sales were JPY 26.5 billion, with segment profit at JPY 3.7 billion. Page six, please. This is the situation of new contracts in the Total Engineering Business. New contracts for the first half stood at JPY 371.6 billion overall. Overseas, we were awarded an LNG project in UAE in the first quarter, and there were additional orders for the project in the second quarter. This increased the total to JPY 330.6 billion. Domestically, the total was JPY 40.9 billion, mainly from the oil and gas sector. Page seven, please. The order backlog stood at JPY 1,234.4 billion at the end of September. The ratio by sector and region is no change from the first quarter. Page eight, please. This is the consolidated financial position and cash flows. Due to cash inflows from project progress and revaluation of investment securities, total assets increased by JPY 12.6 billion to JPY 804.9 billion.
The equity ratio remained flat at 48.9% from the beginning of the period. Operating cash flow was positive at JPY 58.3 billion, significantly exceeding the same period last year due to the collection of accounts receivable from domestic and overseas projects and the receipt of advance payments. Investment cash flow was negative JPY 14.7 billion due to the acquisition of tangible fixed assets, and financing cash flow was negative JPY 14.7 billion due to dividend payments. The balance of cash and cash equivalents was JPY 356.1 billion. Page 10, please. This is the forecast for fiscal year 2024. The progress rate of new contracts remains at 38% against the forecast because the decision timing for expected projects is delayed compared to expectations. Consequently, the internal operating rate is on a declining trend. We're closely monitoring the situation, but for now, we're maintaining the figures announced in May.
This concludes my overview of the financial results. I'm Chairman Sato. I will speak mainly about my current perceptions of the energy market. The business environment in which JGC Group operates today is facing a triple dilemma or trilemma, with two issues: managing the increasing immediate demand for energy and accelerating decarbonization to realize a sustainable society, and a new issue of energy affordability, which means energy that is affordable. If we look at energy affordability from a slightly different perspective, we can also see it as business economics. Rising interest rates and inflation of various goods and services increase businesses' initial investment and operating costs. I was able to experience this sense of global issues firsthand when I attended Gastech 2024 held in Houston, USA, from September 17th. Gastech is an important forum for energy-related companies, particularly those involved in gas-related businesses around the world.
It is a forum where the top energy-related people from IOCs, NOCs, and governments come together to share their visions for sustainable energy in the future, namely energy security and the path to decarbonization. This year's event was even more successful than last year's in Singapore, with more than 800 exhibiting companies and 40,000 visitors. During the Gastech event, our group also met with the top management of more than 30 companies, including our key clients and other companies in the same industry. What I particularly felt from these meetings was that in terms of the energy situation in Japan and the rest of the world, compared to last year, when the focus was solely on decarbonization, each company and the government agencies that lead them are now trying to adjust the speed of the transition to a more realistic level.
Another aspect is that issues such as economic efficiency, the lack of clarity around subsidy policies in various countries, and offtake are beginning to come to light. In this context, the importance of natural gas and LNG, which are relatively low-carbon, clean, and have established supply chains, has become a common understanding in each country, and while demand is expected to remain strong, it has been highlighted that final investment decisions continue to be delayed due to high upfront costs and long timelines. In response to this situation, clients are also taking various measures. One example of this is the move towards more flexible forms of contract on the part of the contractors, away from the traditional lump sum form of contract. In addition, many clients see modular construction as an effective measure, and there are high expectations for our group, which has a wealth of experience in modular construction.
While acknowledging the need to slow the pace of decarbonization, we also confirm that companies continue to actively develop technologies that will help combat climate change and prepare for the future. Our group's technical team also took the opportunity to make a presentation at the forum, and we were able to demonstrate our group's presence based on our technological capabilities. Next, let's look at the business environment for the Functional Materials Manufacturing Business. In the catalyst and fine chemicals businesses, there was a delay in demand for catalyst products from overseas clients in the first half of the year, but we expect to catch up in the second half. Demand for fine chemical products for semiconductors and electronics has begun to recover.
In the fine ceramics business, demand for ceramic products has increased as the semiconductor-related market has gradually recovered, and demand for power semiconductor-related products for electric vehicles, EVs, has continued to expand. In this business environment, total orders received in the first half of fiscal 2024 for the Total Engineering Business were JPY 370 billion , with 330 billion JPY coming from overseas and JPY 40 billion from domestic orders. Although we're on track to achieve our target of JPY 970 billion in orders, as I mentioned earlier, we're concerned about the timing of investment decisions for orders expected in the second half of the year due to factors such as the increase in clients' initial investment costs. Ishizuka will explain this point later.
As for the earnings forecast for fiscal year 2024, the projects currently underway in the Total Engineering Business, including those that incurred losses in fiscal year 2023, are currently progressing within the expected range, but we cannot afford to be complacent, so we'll continue to execute them with tight focus. We're also taking steps to stabilize the earnings of the Total Engineering Business, which is centered on JGC Global and our overseas group companies. Ishizuka will explain this in more details later. The business environment is difficult to predict at the moment, but we hope to overcome these rough waters and enter a period of sustained growth. That is all from me.
Thank you very much. I am Tadashi Ishizuka, President of JGC Holdings Corporation. I'm going to present the business overview. Please refer to page two. This is the agenda for today. Page three, please.
First, let me talk about our Total Engineering Business. Please refer to page four, Market Environment Overview. I am not going to explain what is on this slide as it overlaps with what Mr. Sato has just covered, but let me add one important point. As the market gets increasingly volatile, we have sensed a large gap between the costs our overseas clients imagine and the costs we anticipate through our daily communication with suppliers and construction companies. For example, a client may assume a 20% increase in plant cost from three years ago when they initially planned the project, but what we estimate and submit to the client is a 40% cost increase, 1.5 times more than they expected. In case of large compressors, it can be up to a 60% increase, three times more than they expected.
Those increases are driven not only by pure cost increases in materials and labor wages, but also by supply and demand balance, such as shortage of construction workers and oligopoly, among others. As Mr. Sato explained earlier, another major issue is that, in addition to cost increases, delivery time is getting longer, on average, by six months to one year for plant equipment. The situation is similar in Japan. Many of the sustainability projects here are planned based on government subsidies. However, applications for subsidies are filed one or two years prior, causing a gap in costs when the investment decision is actually made. Often, clients need to revisit their budgets or need additional time to apply for a subsidy increase. Such reality is shocking to our clients, and we do our best to help them understand the situation by explaining the current status of costs and delivery time.
Page five shows the status of orders. As explained earlier, orders received so far is approximately JPY 370 billion against the full-year target of JPY 970 billion, combining JPY 840 billion overseas and JPY 130 billion domestic. Major overseas projects awarded include a new LNG plant project for ADNOC in the UAE, FEED for the Rovuma LNG project by ExxonMobil in Mozambique, and FEED for a green hydrogen and MCH production plant in Malaysia by ENEOS and Sumitomo Corporation. One of the overseas projects we expect to be awarded in the second half is the Tangguh UCC CCS project. Recently, JGC has been nominated to carry out the UCC project onshore scope by BP. We are waiting for the formal appointment of the execution of the contract later this year.
The Tangguh UCC is one of the world's largest CCS projects, which will re-inject CO2 emitted from the gas field and LNG production into the gas field, increasing its production. The UAE LNG plant, already awarded, uses electric motors called e-drive powered by clean electricity to reduce CO2 emissions from operations. Both facilities contribute to the decarbonization of the society. There's another LNG project in Africa for which FID is expected by the end of this fiscal year. Those two orders, Tangguh and the LNG in Africa, will get us to achieve our overseas target of JPY 840 billion. In Japan, we expect orders for multiple large maintenance projects, as well as small and medium-scale pharmaceutical plants, hospitals, and a food-related factory.
We worked hard to achieve the orders target, but as explained under the Market Environment section, clients' FID was delayed due to high CapEx both overseas and in Japan, elections in host countries, and lack of cohesion in the client's JV. Please see page six. Progress and major ongoing projects. LNG Canada is scheduled for commercial operation in mid-2025 and successfully completed Gas-In for the first of two trains on August 31st. Current focus is on commissioning work. The middle one above, the Basra Refinery upgrading project in Iraq, is scheduled for completion in 2025. Most of the major equipment has been installed, and construction work has passed its peak. Now focus is on remaining construction work and preparation for commissioning. Pictures in the bottom left is an ethylene expansion project in the U.S. Installation of major equipment and modules is at its peak.
We will continue to pay close attention as the project moves into the construction phase. In the bottom right, though without a picture, is the Zuluf Gas and Oil Separation Plant project in Saudi Arabia. It is progressing according to the schedule revised in March. We are continuing to address the delays in delivery from local supplier, dispatching our project members to help them with schedule management and quality control. We also prepared to ask the client to bear the additional costs incurred. In the top right is a project in Japan called FJ3 to construct API facilities for low and medium molecular weight drugs at Chugai Pharmaceutical Fujieda plant. Handover is expected soon. This project is our largest in the pharmaceutical field, and construction has been completed successfully.
Turning to page seven, I'd like to discuss the progress in our efforts to stabilize revenue in the EPC business, which I explained in May at the time of our full-year financial results. Let me review the issues again. The first is the failure to maintain suitable human resources allocation in JGC Corporation to execute design work and ensure quality. The second is overseas group companies undertake projects inconsistent with the execution capabilities, meaning those group companies took project orders beyond their capabilities. To address the first issue, we continue to select projects strictly according to the three criteria I explained in May: current and medium-term profit and high feasibility, resource allocation, and future potential. We have taken actions to make sure that the selected projects are prioritized in resource allocation.
For the second issue, we have paused our organizational transformation for a stronger regional management framework and discussed how to redefine the roles of overseas group companies. As a result, we now strictly limit local EPC projects to certain companies and carefully select projects under JGC Corporation's supervision to engage only when JGC Group holds a competitive advantage in technology or price. Based on this, subsidiaries in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia scaled back their pursuit and execution of local EPC projects and instead are focused on completing current ongoing projects. Once completed, they will focus on their role as the local contracting entity for JGC Global. In line with this, we are redefining the roles of some group companies, including reduction and consolidation of functions. Please see page eight. Here, we change the gear and look at a business for the future, which is biomanufacturing.
We expect it to grow as a part of our known EPC business portfolio and develop into a platform business, including licensing. Biomanufacturing is a method of utilizing microbes to create products in a wide range of fields such as pharmaceuticals, materials, energy, and food. The global market is estimated to reach JPY 200 trillion by 2030. In collaboration with Bacchus Bio Innovation, a bio startup from Kobe University, we are working on integrated biofoundry as a one-stop platform from the development and improvement of microbes to the development of production processes, greatly cutting time to market and cost by reducing time from microbial development to commercialization. This business leverages the scale-up technology we have developed over many years in energy and other process development, as well as the optimal design technology for culture tanks we have developed in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
In order to drive the business, in August this year, we began construction of the world's first R&D center for biomanufacturing based on gas fermentation in Port Island, Kobe, utilizing our own funds and government subsidies. This R&D center will have multiple gas culture equipment ranging from a few liters to several hundred liters to develop gas cultivation technology, as well as to build scale-up technology for commercial plants. As you saw on the press release, we will work with Kaneka Corporation and Oji Holdings to bring their microbes up to the commercialization level. If it goes well, there are plans to expand R&D capacity with second and third facilities. We hope to establish ourselves as a biomanufacturing platform provider by the 2030s and achieve several tens of billions of JPY in sales by the 2040s, including licensing business. Please see page 10.
Lastly, I'd like to give an overview of the Functional Materials Manufacturing Business. As Mr. Sato mentioned earlier, the catalyst business, especially FCC catalysts, remains strong on the back of increased demand for catalyst replacement. Though the replacement for some products slipped in timing in the first half, we will catch up and work to expand sales channels overseas in the second half. In the fine chemicals business, semiconductor-related markets are recovering, leading to resurgence in fine chemical products. While responding to the market recovery, we will continue to expand applications for existing products. In the fine ceramics business, driven by the recovery of the semiconductor equipment market, the demand for our mainstay products, equipment components, is also recovering. Demand for high thermal conductivity silicon nitride substrates continues to grow as they are used not only in EVs but also in hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
In the second half, we will continue to review our production plans and framework to respond to the market recovery while preparing to start up the new plant under construction in FY 2025. This concludes my presentation. Thank you very much.