Good morning, everyone. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to participate in today's briefing. Allow me to start today's briefing on financial results for the ADEKA Corporation for the first six months ended September 30, 2025. Today's briefing will cover the following agenda items. First are the consolidated results for the first half of fiscal year 2025. We registered JPY 195.7 billion in net sales, up JPY 600 million on a YoY basis. JPY 19.7 billion in operating profit, up JPY 1.4 billion. JPY 19.9 billion in ordinary profit, up JPY 3.1 billion, and JPY 12.4 billion in profit attributable to owners of parent, up JPY 900 million.
Lastly, we registered JPY 122.4 in net profit per share, up JPY 9.8 per share. Next is an analysis of operating profit. While an increase in fixed costs and an unfavorable foreign exchange environment represented headwinds for operating profit, this was offset by higher sales volume and benefits from net pricing. Ultimately, these factors translated into YoY operating profit growth of JPY 1.4 billion. Next are the trends in consolidated performance by segment. Strong results in the life science segment were more than enough to offset weakness from the polymer additives and semiconductor materials sub-segments. Ultimately, this translated into a lift in both net sales and operating profit for the company as a whole. I would now like to give you a more in-depth review of the results for each segment, starting with polymer additives in the chemicals segment.
All comparisons are on a YoY basis. This segment faced significant sluggish market conditions, resulting in weakness in the category of flame retardants for home appliances and EVs. We also registered weakness in antioxidants for plastic-related uses. Conversely, within the category of architecture and infrastructure, sales of PVC stabilizers for use in electrical wires and home interior materials remained steady, especially in the U.S. Progress was made with price revisions for plasticizers and PVC stabilizers, particularly in Japan. We recorded an overall decline in operating profit on a YoY basis due to lower sales volume and an unfavorable exchange rate. An improvement in fixed costs boosted results, but wasn't enough to offset this decrease. Next are the results for semiconductor materials in the chemicals segment.
We saw sales weakness from high-k materials for use in advanced DRAM due to temporary production adjustments to deal with the generation change in memory. On the other hand, and on the bright side, mass production of semiconductors using our new products started, which is a positive development. Sales of semiconductor lithography materials for advanced photoresists were strong due to the expansion of investment in data centers and growth in devices equipped with generative AI functionalities. Lastly, sales were weak for ALD materials for advanced logic ICs. We recorded a significant operating profit decline on a YoY basis due to the negative effects of net pricing, an increase in fixed costs, and exchange rate headwinds. An increase in sales volume did boost results by JPY 300 million, but this wasn't enough to offset these negative factors. Next are the results for environmental materials in the chemicals segment.
Sales of lubricant additives for engine oil in the domain of mobility were strong, driven by expanded fuel efficiency needs in Asia and the U.S. On the other hand, we saw a slumping market due to the slowdown of the Chinese economy. This slowdown translated into weak sales of photo curing materials for electronics, specifically displays and reactive emulsifiers for architectural and infrastructure uses. Also within electronics, sales of specialty epoxy resins for electronic components were strong. Operating income saw a slight increase on a YoY basis as higher sales volume and a decrease in manufacturing costs were basically offset by exchange rate tailwinds. Next is the food products segment. Customers in China remained oriented to low prices, leading to a weak sales performance for shortenings and margarines used in breads and confectioneries.
Adoption of our Deli-PLANTS series of plant-based foods in cafe menus in Japan continued and expanded, translating into steady sales. Lastly, the sale of Uehara Foods Industry Co Ltd in April 2025 led to a sales decrease. We saw headwinds from lower sales volume and tailwinds from net pricing. These two factors more or less offset one another, resulting in a slight YoY decrease in operating profit. Next is the life science segment, which essentially reflects the results of Nihon Nohyaku. We recorded strong YoY sales of herbicides and insecticides for paddy rice on account of both soaring rice prices in Japan and an increase in rice acreage. U.S. tariffs boosted movement of goods to distributors in the first quarter, resulting in strong sales of herbicides and acaricides in North America.
In Europe, we also recorded strong sales of active ingredients for insecticides and of herbicides for fruit trees and potato plants. Large increases in sales volume and significant improvements in net pricing were more than enough to offset the increase in fixed costs and exchange rate headwinds, ultimately driving a significant operating profit increase in this segment. Let me highlight one key point regarding operating profit. Specifically, operating profit is up JPY 3.5 billion YoY and JPY 1.4 billion above the forecast. The vertical bar chart shows a YoY comparison for the first and second quarters, respectively. We expected our significant profit increase in the first quarter to be followed by a large slump in the second quarter. Despite this, and since the expected sales decline in the second quarter did not materialize, profit remained on par with the same period last year.
Strong sales of pesticides in overseas markets, particularly in North America, where margins are high, were the reason behind this operating profit over-performance. Lower cost of sales and fixed costs and the recognition of some R&D costs slipping into the second half allowed us to post a strong second quarter performance. Next are the consolidated forecasts for fiscal year 2025. Let's start with the outlook of the market environment in the second half of fiscal year 2025. Uncertainty is expected to continue due to trends in trade policies, prolonged geopolitical risks, fluctuating financial and capital markets, and other factors. Here we have our market outlook for the automotive, construction and infrastructure, semiconductor, and display sectors. In the food products segment, while we expect weakness from mass merchants and convenience stores, we expect strong inbound demand to continue in the tourism and restaurant industries.
In the life science segment, we expect the current growth trend to extend into the second half. In light of this outlook, we are reaffirming the full year forecast announced back in May. Specifically, we are targeting JPY 441 billion in net sales, JPY 43 billion in operating profit, JPY 43 billion in ordinary profit, and JPY 26.4 billion in profit attributable to owners of parent. Next are the consolidated forecasts by segment. In the first half, we saw year-over-year decreases in net sales and operating profit across the board, with the life science segment as the sole exception. However, for the full fiscal year, we now expect a broad-based sales increase and profit increase punctuated by lower profits in the semiconductor sub-segment. Next is the forecast for polymer additives in the chemicals segment.
We will work to regain sales by shifting to high value-added products and developing markets in untapped regions. Starting with the category of all plastic products, we expect fierce price competition will continue, especially with general purpose goods. Against this backdrop, we will focus on our one-pack granular additives as competitive high performance grade products, thus driving sales. In the area of antioxidants, we are looking to develop markets in untapped regions such as Africa. In terms of materials for automobiles and home appliances, we expect demand, including inventory, to remain firm with variations by region and manufacturer, as we will work to stage a recovery here. In the area of flame retardants, we will improve price competitiveness and work to regain sales for home appliances and EVs. We will also launch full-scale sales in the U.S. and Asia of TRANSPAREX, ADEKA's novel clarifier agent.
While raw material procurement costs at our U.S. subsidiary are up, we will focus on enhancing sales of new products like TRANSPAREX to drive an overall increase in sales and profits. Allow me to give you a brief overview of our plans to grow sales of our TRANSPAREX solution. As the most effective clarifier for polypropylene transparency and a product with tremendous functionality, prototyping and evaluations of the use of TRANSPAREX are currently underway with over 250 companies around the world. The section and illustration on the left show the ongoing assessment of the efficacy of TRANSPAREX in select automotive components. As you can see with the food container on the right, this clarifying agent achieves exceptional transparency in thin wall applications.
While thicker containers tend to appear less visually transparent, the material's precise molecular alignment significantly enhances light penetration and makes possible use cases like elaborate and delicate electronic light displays. Essentially, when a vehicle's headlight shines through the resin casing, TRANSPAREX ensures that light travels in a straight line through this medium, greatly enhancing the vehicle's aesthetic appeal. Furthermore, clients have been impressed by TRANSPAREX's great recyclability factor made possible by the agent and its use in the creation of mono-material polypropylene parts. Regarding promotion efforts, we are leveraging our place in the Guinness World Records to drive sales. Specifically, in September 2025, TRANSPAREX was officially certified by the Guinness World Records as the most effective clarifier for polypropylene transparency.
Moving on to semiconductor materials, we will work to improve profits with recovering demand for advanced materials and expanded sales of new products with a focus on memory applications. We offer materials for use in products across the memory, logic IC, and photoresist categories. We are seeing particular momentum in high-k materials for advanced semiconductor memory as the mass production of devices using new products has begun, and we believe this process will speed up significantly starting around early next year. Additionally, we intend to make sure we lead in terms of miniaturization efforts within the scope of next generation development processes, ensuring continued demand for ADEKA's products for many years to come. Finally, regarding photoresists, as we continue seeing advances in EUV-based fine processing, we foresee growing demand for photoacid generators for advanced photoresists and organometallic compounds for MOR.
In terms of materials for advanced logic, we maintain our strategy of contributing in all directions, covering both front-end and back-end processes. I would like to reconfirm our plan to build a new plant dedicated to MOR organometallic compounds, which are key enablers for next generation EUV lithography. These MOR organometallic compounds are key materials ensuring technological innovation in semiconductor lithography, specifically supporting the high-definition patterning required in next generation EUV uses. The facility will be located within our Kashima Chemical Plant in Kamisu City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Representing a JPY 3.2 billion investment, we plan to break ground next April, with commercial operations scheduled to begin in April 2028. As high numerical aperture EUV exposure becomes necessary, we foresee a landscape where traditional photoresists like CAR, chemically amplified resists, and emerging MOR, metal oxide resist technologies coexist in the production of new, highly miniaturized semiconductors. Next are environmental materials.
In addition to strong sales of the lubricant additive ADEKA SAKURA-LUBE series, we will work to expand sales of materials for displays, electrical material, and cosmetics. Within the mobility sector, we will work to expand sales of our Sakura-Lube series of lubricant additives. Specifically, we are targeting the factory fill market in China, meaning adoption by OEMs for new vehicles leaving the factory assembly line. We also intend to accelerate our efforts in the area of aftermarket replacement oil in light of advancing development in Asia and the U.S. In the electronics sector, we offer photo curing materials for displays. Here, we anticipate a recovery in panel production in the second half. While China remains our primary market at this stage, we will continue to build our presence there to drive sales growth. Our specialty epoxy resins for electronic components are performing well.
We are looking forward to sales expansion in Asia, particularly in terms of sealing materials for semiconductors. Finally, in the lifestyle and green transformation areas, we are promoting cosmetic ingredients, focusing on natural derived materials with an aim to expand sales in Europe and the U.S. Next is the food products segment. Our strategy here is to leverage our competitive strength in food tech to expand sales of high value-added products, simultaneously balancing eco-friendly products with maintaining a highly profitable structure. While bread and confectionery remain our main markets, and despite the stagnation in the Chinese economy, we believe the adoption of high value-added products in China is really beginning to pick up. Again, although consumers continue to be budget-minded and the trend towards smaller portion sizes continues, we anticipate growing adoption of high-value processed oils rooted in food tech.
We expect palm oil prices to remain high, with secondary raw materials such as cacao rising sharply. That said, by leveraging our food tech solutions, we aim to overcome these headwinds and propel the business forward. A good example is Deli-PLANTS EG-W, a new product within our lineup of plant-based food solutions. This product replicates the emulsification, heat coagulation, and foaming properties of eggs without actually using any eggs at all. It allows manufacturers to bake soft, fluffy cakes and crunchy cookies using entirely plant-based ingredients. Having largely completed market validation in Japan, we are now expanding our Deli-PLANTS series in overseas markets. Concurrently, we will expand global sales of our MARVELOUS series of highly acclaimed processed oils, tailoring our approach to cater to the preferences and needs of each region. Next is the life science segment.
In this segment, we seek to drive revenue and profit by growing herbicide sales in Europe. Boosting our paddy rice products in Japan and broadening our product lineup for fruit trees. Rising farm input costs overseas, particularly in North America, have been a massive boost for generic products. We do expect a slight dip in the second half as a result, but thanks to a strong first half, we remain on track for a strong full year performance. In Asia, specifically as it pertains to restructuring in India, we do forecast a full year decline, but we continue working on mitigating this drop to the greatest extent possible. In Japan, we are seeing expanded rice paddy acreage and more frequent pest outbreaks due to rising temperatures. With this in mind, we have obtained exclusive rights to distribute BASF's crop protection products for fruit trees in Japan.
By leveraging this deal to expand our product portfolio, we are targeting the top market share position in the category of fruit crop pesticides and expect these efforts to boost our second half performance. Next is an overview of progress in the acquisition of own shares. Between August and October, we repurchased 1.98 million shares, 20% of the planned total, for an acquisition cost of JPY 6.5 billion, or 37% of the authorized amount. As previously disclosed, we have set an upper limit of JPY 18 billion and a maximum of 10 million shares in terms of the total number of shares to be acquired. This share repurchase program will continue through May 31, 2026, with the cancellation of the shares scheduled for early June 2026.
I would now like to discuss our dividend policy and the annual dividend forecast for fiscal year 2025. Under ADX 2026, the ongoing mid-term management plan, and based on our comprehensive consideration of appropriate shareholder returns, we maintain a commitment to the payment of stable dividends as our policy. We are guiding for a payout ratio of 40% or more and affirm our commitment to not cutting dividends. We have already paid JPY 52 per share as an interim dividend, an increase of JPY 4 on a YoY basis. As it stands, we are currently targeting a year-end dividend of JPY 52 per share, bringing the full year total to JPY 104 per share. Naturally, we remain committed to achieving a payout ratio of 40% or more, including final results after the execution of share buybacks.
We have included supplementary data here for your reference. As of the end of the first half, the overseas sales ratio stood at 55.1%, underscoring a clear upward trajectory. Let's now look at the business goals and the fiscal year 2025 forecast. We are currently in the second year of ADX 2026, making steady progress toward our 2026 goals and without any changes to our operating policy. On the capital investment front, while our investment is heavily weighted towards semiconductor-related projects, we are also executing strategic investments in polymer additives and other areas. Lastly, I would like to review the consolidated performance trends. As of the end of the first half, the progress rate stood at 44% for net sales and 46% for operating profit.
We are fully focused on making up for lost ground in the second half and hitting the fiscal year 2025 targets. Again, for your reference, we have also provided a table showing segment performance trends on a quarterly basis. We provided this table to clearly illustrate the recent classification changes separating the semiconductor materials and environmental materials sub-segments. This concludes my presentation. Thank you for your time.