This is Yamauchi. I would like to report on the third quarter financial results. First of all, please turn to page 3. As always, first, let me share with you the situation of domestic consumer products market. As you can see in the middle of this page where it says 2021 Q3, the Household and Personal Care was 99. People refrained from going outside under the state of emergency, so the market was lackluster. The average for the period between January to September was 97. Next to it is cosmetics market, which was 100. It was opposite because July was slightly better, but the average for January to September period was 97, which means that the domestic cosmetics market was not so good. Please turn to the next page. That was about domestic market. Now, Asia, the Americas, and Europe.
As you can see, China and Indonesia showed signs of slowdown in the third quarter. Those markets are being hit by COVID-19, especially Indonesia is faced with a challenge. Thailand was the most severe out of these markets, as you can see the weak numbers on the slide. Meanwhile, the U.S., the U.K., and Germany are shown at the bottom. The markets have begun to improve since Q2, and the situation in Q3 is also quite favorable. Please turn to the next page. These are the highlights of consolidated financial results. First of all, net sales was JPY 1,021 billion, up JPY 15.7 billion from the same period of last year, which is +1.6%. That's what the number says, but there was about 2% impact from foreign exchange rates. After subtracting this, the actual real change was -0.4%.
Household and Personal Care did not perform very well. Operating income was JPY 109 billion, down 9.2% from the previous year. Net income attributable to owners of the parent company was JPY 82.1 billion. Due to the foreign exchange gain, the drop was smaller, but it was down from the same period of last year. Please go to the next page. This is the overview. For the Household and Personal Care business, there were some special demands last year, so there is a rebound from that. As you all know, the situation was difficult in July, August, and September period, due to the voluntary curfew and the declaration of state of emergency. The market environment, both in Asia as well as Japan, where Kao's main focus is, were very severe, which was reflected in the numbers.
Also, there were effects of raw material prices. On the other hand, in the Cosmetics business, the July-September period saw a year-on-year increase of 5.9%. Although we were aiming for double-digit growth, I think we fared well regardless of the circumstances. Strong performance in China is continuing and recovery is being observed in Europe. Nevertheless, they could not offset the negative impact in Japan, therefore, our sales fell short of the plan. Having said that, July-September period was up about 6% on a year-on-year basis. In the Chemicals business, the increase in raw material prices is being passed on to sales price, so prices are being raised. That is why sales are going up. This alone will not have an impact on profit, but the volume of sales is increasing slightly.
Products such as toner and toner binders have seen a slight recovery in volume and are doing well. The impact of changes in raw material prices is stated as -JPY 6 billion. Up until the second quarter, we were almost on par, but now we are finally seeing the impact and the amount is -JPY 6 billion. For Chemicals, 100%, we are passing on 100% of the raw material price hike to the price. The impact is stronger on HMPC. Given this backdrop, we are well aware that the situation is pretty tough. However, as we go into the months of November and December, the state of emergency has been lifted and it will be our final chance to drive our profit as we go into the Christmas season.
We will be pushing forward until the very end towards our target without changing the annual forecast. Page 12, please. On the left are the sales figures for the first half of this fiscal year from January to June, and on the right are the sales figures for the third quarter by geography and by business segment. I have already covered the first half, so I want to focus on this Q3. Hygiene and Living Care in Japan is struggling significantly, especially with fabric softeners, sanitary napkins, and Merries. In addition, detergents for home care, those that were very strong last year are in decline due to the rebound this year. Asia is in a similar situation. In Health and Beauty Care segment.
Hand soaps and hand sanitizers, which were extremely successful last year in Japan, are faced with a challenge this year because of the rebound. In addition, the weather was not good this summer, and we thought people would go outside for the Olympics, but instead they stayed at home to watch the games on TV. We had planned very good summer products such as Bioré towels, but our expectation is put off until next year. The situation is similar in Asia, where the makeup removers and the seasonal products such as UV products were having a hard time. The exception was haircare products for salons in the U.S. Oribe performed very well and the sales are increasing. That was about the U.S. market. Whereas in Europe, sales grew in the first two quarters, but took a bit of a break in the third quarter.
This is not a particular decline, but rather a recovery in progress. Next to it is Life Care, - 13.4%, with sluggish sanitizers, disinfectants and other professional use products because of the absence of special demand like last year. Restaurants were not open at all, so those products did not sell well. It was very tough. Now in Life Care, there's an increase for the U.S. This was the same in the first half. This is related to the company WSI that we acquired in the United States, which is a commercial use hygiene related products company. With one additional client, the number would go up. Right next to it is Cosmetics. Japan is slightly down. Asia, especially China, in Q3 there was more than 40% growth.
Other Asian nations are tough, but still the positive of 26.7% was recorded. U.S. and Europe, Molton Brown and SENSAI, those are improving, so that was positive. As for Chemicals, as it was mentioned, we passed on the higher raw material prices, and the volume is also coming back up. Next page. Now from January to September, cumulative numbers shown on the left as net sales. As you can see, those are the percentage. Life Care, Chemicals and Cosmetics are slightly positive. As for the operating income on the right-hand side, Hygiene and Living Care, the sales numbers are down but higher raw material cost. Here it says -JPY 14.8 billion, which is a year-on-year change. I mentioned the JPY 6 billion negative impact of the higher raw material cost, and about 70% of that is in Hygiene and Living Care.
As for Health and Beauty Care , about 30% of the impact from the raw material cost increase. Life Care, commercial products were down, so - JPY 0.7 billion. For Cosmetics, year-on-year change is up by JPY 7.4 billion. Finally, in Q3, we generated JPY 0.1 billion profit. We are in a positive range. Q4 is the highest in terms of the earnings, so higher with sales will be reflected here. As we mentioned from the beginning of the year, Murakami-san said that it would be JPY 10 billion-JPY 15 billion for cosmetics, and we are likely to end at that level. As for Chemicals, the volume is up, and that is shown in this positive number. There was some impact.
The higher raw material cost, JPY 0.1 billion-JPY 0.2 billion, in Cosmetics and Life Care, but those were limited. The Chemicals for almost 100% reflected on the sales price. The raw material price increase is on the two columns on the left-hand side. Next page. This is analysis of the change in consolidated operating income. There is a major impact of the lower sales of HMPC, -JPY 13 billion. Next is the impact from the change in raw material prices, -JPY 6 billion. In Q4, we expect a similar impact, so -JPY 6 billion again. For the full year, impact is expected to be JPY 12 billion or so. SG&A, +JPY 2 billion. From the beginning of the year, we mentioned that we would spend about JPY 15 billion for DX and marketing expenses.
In order to offset those, we are working on various cost reductions. Through those efforts, this number is positive. We have already used almost JPY 15 billion for DX, and in other areas we are reducing costs. Below that, we are showing the change in product mix, and Forex impact is JPY 3 billion, and those are included here. The product mix, for example, include the launch of the AirJet . So higher price range products and higher profitability products, those are showing the positive result. In the fluctuation of sales, we are seeing the lower sales of the HMPC and higher sales of the chemicals. Next page. Here we are looking at the progress and results of decisive brand management.
Right now, those are the issues listed, and we have already taken some of the initiatives, and there are some initiatives that we will be taking from now on. Attack and fabric softeners and others, we have a lot of advertising going on from the competitors, so we would like to go against those competitors with different ideas. We have maintained the number one position of Attack. In Magiclean, also we are seeing new competitors, but we are in the process of recovery with this new product. As for Merries, we launched new product in China. We are getting good feedback. That is something that we can expect in the future. As for Cosmetics, KATE has been very successful. Murakami-san is here with us, so maybe he can talk about this further during the Q&A. Next.
Now in Q3, many people had to stay at home. Of course, our original plan was to have a double-digit growth for Cosmetics and a positive results for HMPC, but those were the results in Q3. Now in Q4, we would like to turn them around toward achieving the operating income of JPY 177 billion. As for Chemicals, we are likely to end at this level. Next, please. Now, in Q4, HMPC will continue to be well-focused and decisive, and we will be going into the year-end season with those products. For cosmetics, the market is recovering, so we would take measures with those products shown here. Lastly, DX. We have been working on this from the beginning of the year, so these are the things that we are doing.
Today we have Matsuda-san and Murakami-san here with us, who can give you more details during the Q&A. That concludes my presentation. Thank you. We will now begin the Q&A session. Ms. Sato from SMBC Nikko Securities, please go ahead.
This is Sato from SMBC Nikko Securities. Can you hear me?
I can hear you. It's very clear.
Thank you very much. I understand that it is limited to one question, so I'd like to ask you one question. In the domestic Household and Personal Care business, Kao has been working on the brand management and have decided to consolidate the number of brands from 44 to 32 brands. This was announced when you closed the first half, and I was wondering how the progress is being made. Because looking at the three months in third quarter for Japan's fabric home care, I thought that sales would usually increase towards the second half of the year, but it did not change much from Q2 to Q3, and it appears to me that sales decreased year-on-year basis. If you could explain this point, taking into account the impact of the brand consolidation.
Okay. Regarding your question, I will have Matsuda-san answer.
I am Matsuda. Thank you for your question. Your question was about the progress of our focused brand strategy for Household and Personal Care business in Japan. If you could show page 8. As you just mentioned, we have 44 brands in Japan, which we have narrowed down to 32, and among them, we have selected 13 brands that we believe will become leading brands in their respective categories. In the second half, or since July of this year, we have been focusing more on Magiclean and also Attack. In the health and beauty category, Essential. We have been shifting our focus to these brands. In September, we launched a new product called AirJet in Bath Magiclean brand. It has not contributed to our share fully in the third quarter, but from September, our market share has been on a significant recovery trend.
There will be a home cleaning campaign toward the end of the year, so we would like to continue to drive the overall Magiclean brand until the end of the year with AirJet as one of the pillars. As for laundry detergents, we will focus on Attack. There is fabric softener. Here we are currently concentrating on FLAIR Fragrance and Wide Haiter EX, but the competitors are also aggressively placing ads on TV and enhancing their product offerings in this area. As I explained earlier, Attack has managed to defend its number one position, but I believe that the competition will continue to be very intense. Nevertheless, we are determined to drive this leading brand, so we will continue to make continuous investments in Q4 as well. That's all I have to say. Thank you very much. The 32 brands have already been decided.
Is it correct to say that you competed in Q3 with that lineup? From those 32 brands, we went further to select 13 leading brands in each category. I see. You've already selected those brands and you've gotten through July-September period. You're now focusing on October-December period. Oh, I see. Excuse me, just one point. How do you see the sales results for the three months in Q3? I got the impression that sales were a little weak. Perhaps this was due to the impact of the brand management renewal, which caused a slight drop in sales of some of the brands that were not given a focus. What is your view of the sales situation?
As regards to the Fabric and Home Care business, as I just mentioned, we were in a fierce battle with the competition. The results are not full-blown yet.
As for Health and Beauty Care , it was a little different from what we had expected. It rained a lot in August, and the seasonal products that we thought were promising were not as good as we had hoped. Another thing is hand soap and hand sanitizer. Last year, there was a shortage of hand soaps and hand sanitizers in the market where our strong supply capability was demonstrated. However, this year, competitors have sufficient supply competing for market share. Our sales dropped because the situation turned out to be slightly different than what we anticipated.
I see. Thank you.
Okay. Next, how about Ms. Kuwahara from JP Morgan?
Can you hear me? Thank you very much. This is Kuwahara from JP Morgan. Since you accept one question, I would also like to know more about the status of Hygiene and Living Care .
It's on page 13 or 14, I believe. You have here change of operating profit year-on-year basis, but what would it look like if you split into sanitary and fabric? If I may comment, fabric is faced with a challenge, but so is sanitary, such as Merries and Laurier. I was wondering, what is going on. Since the price of raw materials is going up, can you pass this on to the pricings of your products? Thank you.
Yamauchi-san, do you care to take this question?
The Fabric and Home Care was selling well even without doing anything last year. That is kitchen detergents and house cleaning products. But this year is without the special demand, and the rebound, from last year has been significant. The negative impact of Fabric and Home Care is greater than that of sanitary and Merries.
Of course, sanitary products and Merries have also been affected in terms of sales with the onset of the COVID-19. We will once again work on Laurier. Merries has been struggling in Japan, and we don't have a special Merries for China. It should settle down soon. In terms of price, it's far from raising the price. This category is into discount war. We need to work on these products. In Japan, we will be launching renewals and new products at which timing we can change the pricing and pass on the raw material increase. In Europe and the U.S., we are currently preparing for a price increase. This may happen next year. The competitors have already raised their prices in these markets, and we are thinking of following suit.
Thank you. I understood. Let me confirm.
Even if that is the case, if the price of raw materials rises, the situation in Japan is not such that you can raise the price. Will you be launching new products and absorb the increase over time? Is this correct understanding?
Well, one way is to change the size or the volume of the product. When the product goes through a renewal, quantity can be changed. This happens sometimes. People are very price sensitive. We can't simply raise the price. There are also competitors, so we have to keep an eye on their move as well. Therefore, one way is to change the size or the volume, and another way is to shift to value-add products. Recently launched AirJet is one example of higher price range product, and Bioré GUARD foam-type sanitizer has added value.
I believe that in case of Japanese market, shift to such higher price points and value-added products are the ways to pass on cost increase. Thank you. I've understood very well. Thank you.
Does anybody else have a question? Ms. Yamaguchi from Goldman Sachs, please.
Thank you. This is Yamaguchi from Goldman Sachs. Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Thank you. Well, the overall situation seems to be a bit difficult, but your Cosmetics business in China is continuing to do very well. I was wondering if you could give me a little more background. All the companies didn't grow in the July-September period due to the impact of Delta variant of COVID-19 and other factors, or even if there was an increase, it was at best like 10%.
Kao has grown more than 40%, which clearly has accelerated from the first half of this year. Please share with me the background. The fact that domestic sales have remained flat is probably better than the market, or at least it's on par with the market data that you've published. Once again, it's better than those of your competitors. If you could elaborate on this point, that will be helpful. Thank you.
I'm Murakami. Let me try to answer your question. First of all, regarding the situation in China, as you mentioned, the business is slowing down a bit in China as a whole. Fortunately for us, should I say, our price range is more in masstige than prestige, and we are focusing on relatively low to medium price range.
That is one reason why we were less affected than the overall market. As for Hainan Island, it has also been temporarily affected, but since we have just begun our business there, the scale is limited. On the other hand, from a brand perspective, these two brands, freeplus and Curél, have been gaining a lot of strength, and I believe that they will continue to be popular with customers. We also have Double 11 coming up. Deliveries for Double 11 started in September, and in September and October, deliveries have progressed according to the plan. I think this is also a contributing factor. So far, yes, we have been able to achieve relatively strong performance in China. As for Japan, we caused a lot of concern up until the first quarter, and we have explained several times, back then as well.
We have been holding back a lot of initiatives because the market was still quite severe. Now, in the second half, we have been launching new products and conducting promotions on the assumption that the market will come back. However, the market was not as good as we had expected from July to September, and we would have liked it to go up a little more. Well, the market was tough, but I think the measures we have been taking have started to show some impacts. I think that Japan was able to do relatively better in the July-September period. That's all.
I would like to ask for a supplementary explanation for each of them.
I understand that the e-commerce ratio in China is roughly 70%, but could you tell me how much growth there were in e-commerce and offline in the third quarter? Also, I would appreciate if you could tell me how the domestic makeup and skincare business performed in the third quarter.
Well, let's see. The online or EC and offline in China. The offline. Watsons, as you know, is counted in offline now, but Watsons' EC is growing now, so they are no longer pure offline. In that sense, if you look at the third quarter of both channels, it's not either one or the other, but both EC and offline ended the third quarter between 130% and 140%. For the Japanese makeup and skincare. Last year, there was a huge drop due to the nature of the category.
In contrast to last year's results, there was really no difference. Last year, skincare sales was about 90% of the previous year's level. Foundation sales was 60% and lipstick 30%-40%. If we compare with last year's numbers, it's safe to say that the percentage has been more or less around 100%.
I thought that since Kao has a higher mix of makeup than other companies, the growth in that area might be the reason why you are better than your competitors. The makeup market has not recovered to that extent. However, even though the market hasn't returned yet, KATE has been quite successful. You, as you've just said, part of the recovery has been due to KATE.
Yes, I'm sorry about that. You are quite right. With KATE.
I see, but in any case, at a high level, both have been flat, and the domestic Cosmetics was flat.
Yes. Was the market.
Okay, I understand now. Thank you.
Thank you for your question. Next, please. Yes, Ms. Sato from Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Yes, this is Sato. Can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
Yes, I can hear you. Yes, I'd like to ask you about the difference between Household and Personal Care market and Kao's performance. I understand that there were various factors, such as weather, but as you can see on page 3, HMPC was 99 in the July-September period. However, as was mentioned earlier, Q3 was worse than Q2 in many areas of Household and Personal Care . Yes, I understood that there is competition from what I just heard, but you're continuing to lose. I don't know if there was a time in recent years when Kao continued to lose on so many fronts. I think you should reflect on your strategy and ask yourselves why, as a top player, Kao is losing so much compared to the market. I'm sure there were some signs from a while back.
I think you should revisit your marketing and new product developments. How are you planning to deal with this? Also, you have not changed your full year forecast, so I would like to hear some kind of policy that would allow me to be assured that the plan will be reviewed immediately. I would like to know the real reason why Kao is being defeated in this category.
Matsuda-san will answer to your question.
This is Matsuda. Thank you for your question, Ms. Sato. I understand your point, and we are taking this issue with the market share very seriously, especially in Q3. One of the main reasons for the drop in market share is hand soap and hand sanitizer. These have greatly impacted our share. As I mentioned earlier, because of the supply last year, and this year we're missing that part. The competition is ongoing, but the overall share is not so bad at about 35%. Going forward, it will be up to us to figure out how to win. This has the biggest influence. One of the problems I see is shampoo and conditioner or hair care category. Then there is fabric softener, where competition is most intensifying among fabric. As you pointed out, we have to take these two areas very seriously.
For a long time, for example, shampoo and rinse has been attacked by smart mass brands since the launch of non-silicone shampoo, and we were determined to fight back. We launched such smart mass brands such as andand and ines . However, since this has not led to any results, we need to make a drastic change in our strategy as soon as possible. Also, regarding fabric softener, in fact, our competitors have clearly narrowed down their brands, placing mass advertisements and increasing product development and product offerings. Meanwhile, we have diversified our brand strategy into three brands, Humming, FLAIR Fragrance , and Wide Haiter. This was extremely inefficient, so we are revisiting our approach, and ultimately, we want to compete on products manufacturing of the products.
The four Ps of marketing are often referred to, and although DX is very popular now, but Kao is going to make a comeback through manufacturing of products, product out of the four Ps. It's true, as you pointed out earlier, in recent years, Kao has been struggling to come up with unique offerings compared to our competitors. That is what we need to work on as quickly as possible. We would like to develop a unique product that will be recognized by Ms. Sato and surpass the others. That's all I have to say.
Is it correct to understand that at least you are ready to make a comeback in October to December period?
One thing is Bath Magiclean AirJet that I mentioned earlier, which was released in September and has proven to be more successful than expected.
We will continue to drive this product by enhancing our Q4 marketing expense to overachieve our assumption. We will make a comeback with a comprehensive Magiclean brand.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you for your question. Next, does anybody have a question? From Daiwa Securities, Mr. Hirozumi, please.
This is Hirozumi from Daiwa. Can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
Thank you. Let's change our perspective a little bit. Was it Another Kao? The Life Care . I'd like to know if there has been any progress. For example, three months ago, I think you mentioned that you were going to launch a product in the area of infectious disease prevention in the ASEAN region in the near future, probably within this fiscal year. I understand that you are making investments. Can you share with me the possible developments and what we can expect around Another Kao ?
Okay. Matsuda-san will answer to your question.
This is Matsuda. Thank you for your question. Yes, it is about Another Kao . I believe Hasebe-san talked about this challenge of our new collaborative approach through a new business model. As you rightly mentioned, one of them is the repellent in ASEAN region. We are making steady progress in the preparation of the product. We are planning to launch the product in the ASEAN region within this year. Perhaps full-fledged sales activities will start next year. Other than that, as Life Care, as Hasebe-san mentioned, Kao has been observing the lives of consumers through its Cosmetics, Household and Personal Care products. We'd like to use this knowledge and expertise to propose a new type of Life Care that does not rely on medicines or something between personal care and OTC in the age of 100-year lifespan.
Our business plan is making progress in three to four fronts. The plan is underway, but there are things that Kao alone cannot do. That is why we are now preparing to create a new business scheme that will allow us to promote this Life Care business together with partners. This is what we have in mind, and not everything can be shared with you at this point. I apologize for not being able to give you a clear answer, but this is my answer.
I see. I knew I wouldn't be able to get the answer, but I still asked. The midterm management plan was announced last December, and after January-March financial results, as you make progress, do you think you'll be able to introduce more initiatives into next year?
Yes, we are making all preparations so that we can make an announcement that will meet your expectations, so I hope you will wait until then.
You said that you are working with other companies. Is that why you cannot talk about it yet?
I mean, yes, some are partnerships, and we also have a schedule for developing new digital monitoring tool, which is one of our strengths. Inclusive of all these, I hope to be able to share our initiatives that will meet your expectations in the near future.
So it is not possible at this stage. Can we expect a little more clarity when you announce the annual plan in February next year?
I'm sorry, I can't make a commitment today, but I hope to be able to talk to you about it as soon as possible.
Thank you. That was my one question. Thank you.
Next, we have Saji-san from Mizuho Securities.
Hello. Thank you very much. I'd like to ask a question about DX, which is on page 20. Your plan is to spend about JPY 15 billion, and you mentioned that you have already used many of it. Three things are mentioned on this page. JPY 15 billion, how are you spending it? For which area? Toward the next year, what kind of results can you expect in terms of the business results? What are your expectations? Current status of DX and also for the next year, we would expect the similar level of expenses for the DX.
Yes, I would like to answer. This is Yamauchi. Let me talk about expenses. Of course, not all the expenses are directly related to the sales. For example, the work on the internal core system. All of those are included in the DX. Not everything will be reflected, but we are spending much of it. In terms of contribution to the sales, what kind of efforts are we making? Murakami-san can talk about that.
Thank you for your question. This is Murakami. I'm also in charge of DX. On page 20, this is the area that I'm in charge of. This is the digital transformation of businesses. When we look at the overall DX investment, as Yamauchi-san said, this include updating the old systems at the corporate-wide level, so improving the efficiency from the corporate perspective. Total expenses are something that Yamauchi-san talked about. On page 20, the major activities are shown. We are manufacturer, but these days, the term UX is very much talked about. It's not just providing products, but by using digital technologies, how can we add values? We believe that would be the key to success. In that sense, the good example, the KATE has been successful.
In addition to just selling the lipsticks and the mascaras, we started to combine the digital technology and offered KATE MAKEUP LAB , which made the experience of the users much more attractive. Doing this one by one, we want to spend money not only for the monozukuri or manufacturing, but also providing the UX. In the middle, page 20 talks about the direct sales. We have been behind in providing our own e-commerce in the Cosmetics. It's not about only e-cosmetics, but linking the manufacturer with the consumers directly would become more important. We are making that investment not only in Japan, but also in China and Western countries, so globally.
Third thing is also clear that it's a matter of course, we need to merge offline and online, so we are making investments so that this can contribute to the sales.
Thank you. Thank you. Just one point. DX is not something that we can see clearly from outside. You talked about KATE example. In a similar way, any particular results that we will be focusing upon in next year coming from the DX investments?
Well, in terms of visibility in Cosmetics, we are accelerating the business, which is directly linked to the consumer. Especially the prestige brand , we have finally built our own e-commerce site, so we are expecting to see the good results coming next year and onwards. We have started this scheme or system, so we are hoping to see the good results coming from next fiscal year.
Thank you. Thank you for your questions. We have already passed the fixed time, but there are some more questions, so we'd like to continue the meeting. If you are unable to stay, please leave. Next is Kawamoto-san of UBS Securities.
Thank you for your presentation. I hope you can hear me.
Yes.
Thank you. Up to Q3, you mentioned that there was a -JPY 6 billion impact from the higher raw material cost. What about the growth number? You also said that JPY 6 billion is expected for Q4, so that means JPY 12 billion for full year. There is a negative impact of the raw material cost about the JPY 4 billion in comparison to your plan. How do you plan to achieve your full year target based on that?
Also in terms of sales and operating income, how much of the difference were there in relation to your plan? Thank you.
Yamauchi would answer your questions.
This is Yamauchi. So you're asking about the growth number. For the full year, it's about JPY 35 billion expected. Up to Q3, it's about JPY 22 billion. So in terms of net, JPY 6 billion. Of course, in Chemicals, we have offset that by reflecting the higher material cost on the sales prices. For the full year, about JPY 35 billion. So it is a big impact. Could you repeat your second question?
Yes. If you expected about JPY 8 billion as a net impact, and you have already exceeded that level. So how do you plan to recover from it? Your net sales and your operating income in Q3, was it higher or lower than your plans?
Well, yes, we expected JPY 8 billion, and it's going to be about JPY 12 billion. This is what I talked about earlier. We are shifting toward the higher price range and also the improvements. When we make improvements, we would review the price. Now, you're asking about Q3. Of course, we did not expect those negative numbers. They are lower, and we are hoping to achieve about the flat number from the previous year, so same level. There were negative figures in Q3. That means we have to work very hard in Q4, and we are fully aware of that.
Now, talking about the raw material cost as overall business results in Q3, how much of the sales and operating income were lower than the plans?
In Q3 we had negative results. If you only look at Q3, it's about JPY 7 billion down year-over-year. We wanted to have this number down to zero. That was our hope.
Seven billion in terms of operating income?
Yes.
Okay, so you are JPY 7 billion short in terms of operating income, and you want to recover that in Q4 so that you can achieve JPY 177 billion?
Well, we did have higher targets, but yes, that is correct.
Thank you.
Thank you, Kawamoto-san. Next we have Narikiyo-san of Nomura Securities.
Thank you. Can you hear me?
Yes.
Thank you. I am Narikiyo of Nomura Securities. My question is on hygiene business in Asia. Maybe my calculation is wrong, but now excluding cosmetics, the HMPC in Asia in Q3, it didn't grow that much. It was slight increase.
What are the reasons behind this? Earlier you mentioned there was an absence of last year's special demand in HMPC. Was this the same in Asia? Is this a temporary thing? That's my question. Also, in relation to Asia, in comparison to the P&G performance of the sales in the past several years, we are not totally satisfied. What are the background behind that?
This is Yamauchi speaking. Yes. HMPC in Asia, if you look at the January to September cumulative number, the biggest factor was Merries. The Merries in China has been poor, so we are trying to maintain the prices, even lowering the volume. It has settled down finally, and now we launched a new product so that we can recover from it. I think that's all I can say about Asia. Matsuda-san will add something.
Thank you for your questions.
As a whole, Merries in China in the first half, we try to avoid the brand damage. We try to control the sales volume to protect the brand, as Yamauchi-san said. In Q3, what we did not expect was the COVID-19 pandemic in ASEAN nations. There were lockdowns of the distributors. We have large sales in Indonesia and also in Thailand, the public, those were impacted greatly. Also, similar to Japan, the UV care business did not grow as much as expected in the summer. Those are the two factors and other reasons behind the differences in Q3.
Thank you. You are saying that the environment was not good, so without doing anything, this would recover. Is that what you expect?
Well, about Merries, finally we launched new baby diaper in August in China.
With this, we are trying to maximize the brand value of Merries. Together with the existing Merries, we are trying to recover our sales. We have already started with this effort. This new diaper responds to the concerns of the Chinese consumers, that is thinness and breathability. Even after the diaper gets wet, the thinness is maintained, so it provides value. Even the diaper is wet, the toddlers or small children can walk normally. This diaper can help the growth of children. That is the branding that we have started for Merries. We are getting a lot of good reaction feedback for this. With this brand, we are currently making preparations for Double 11 this year so that we can revitalize this brand, and we are hoping to get good results on Double 11 .
I see.
For Merries, you made a good start based on your plan.
Yes. Merries and Laurier, they are doing very well in China.
I see. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Now we'd like to take two more questions. Next question is from Miyazako-san of Jefferies.
Miyazako speaking from Jefferies. Thank you. This question might overlap with the question asked by Kawamoto-san. I'm thinking that probably shift to a high price range might take time, and also the status of TCR and other costs down and marketing cost, there is probably option not to use the digital investment. Including all of those factors, how do you see your target of JPY 117 billion? Excuse me, JPY 177 billion, I should have said.
Well, as for the expenses, yes, we would like to watch the sales numbers, and we'll be spending some, and it doesn't mean that we will spend everything because we said so. Also, the shift to the higher price range products, we have been doing this for some time. For example, in skincare, we have many foam-type products, so that kind of technology, and easy-to-use products. Those are the products that we are shifting toward, and also the refill products is being increased. In this way, we are making those efforts, and it's not something that we need to start from scratch. We will continue with what we have been doing, and with that, the profitability would come up.
I see. Marketing cost and the DX investment, you will be controlling those?
Well, as for the marketing cost expenses, we want to be well-focused, so of course that we shouldn't spend much if we cannot expect higher sales. In that sense, we'll be controlling that.
What about DX?
As for DX, we have been doing this for some time, so we are not going to stop this in many areas. There are some which would be directly linked to sales. The improvement of efficiency is also part of the DX investment, so we would proceed as planned.
Based on that, if you look at the next year, the various costs to go up, including the raw material cost, so how do you plan to recover from it? How much of the cost increase can you expect for the next fiscal year?
Well, the numbers for next year, that's something that we'll be working on from now on. We cannot really make any additional comments in addition to what you are thinking right now.
I see. We should expect some toughness or difficulty.
Well, we do not expect all the expenses or the cost to keep going up.
I see. Thank you.
Thank you for your questions. Last person is Miura-san of Citigroup.
Hello, this is Miura of Citigroup. Yes, I have one question. Why can't you increase the prices of the HMPC in Japan? That's all. Thank you.
Matsuda-san will answer to your question.
This is Matsuda speaking. Thank you very much for your question. Well, I was working in Asia in the past, and even in the HMPC, the prices are increased sometimes.
As Yamauchi-san said, one way of dealing with the higher raw material cost is to increase the prices in Asia and in Europe and U.S. As for Japan, especially, the Fabric and Home Care , as we have said today, this is the segment which is where we have the most intensive competition. Based on that, people are very sensitive about the prices, so it's difficult to start to increase the prices in this area.
Thank you. Sorry. I would understand that if it was just one product, but you are one of the leaders of the HMPC business. You have many products, and in many of them, you are number one. If that is the case, you have many brands and wide-ranging businesses of HMPC.
It seems that your strategy and the reality, there might be a gap between the two. What do you think?
Well, in Household and Personal Care , we are one of the leading companies. As you pointed out, our policy for the prices probably need to be reconsidered. Maybe that time is coming.
Thank you. Thank you. For example, the detergent, say that you have a 50%, 60% market share. That is a solid business. For example, is there a policy to increase the prices for part of the category?
Well, as Yamauchi-san said, Attack ZERO was launched, and with that, the average price was increased. For Bath Magiclean, we launched a new product, AirJet . By doing so, we would like to improve the added value so that we can increase the average selling price.
That is our basic policy.
If that is the case, if the P&G increases the prices, would you follow?
Far, as I mentioned, we want to launch the high price range products and increase the average price.
I see. Thank you. Finally, now October of Japan and Asia. Now with the revenge consumption, we expected that, but in Cosmetics and also HMPC, there has been a delay in Japan.
Your question is in relation to the revenge demand? Did you say that?
Well, in October, state of emergency was lifted, and I think that the things are brightening up. Under those circumstances, if you look at the October in Japan, we do not see the V-shaped recovery in HMPC and Cosmetics. We did not see the quick recovery. If you compare that with overseas, there is a big gap.
Is there any special factor in Japan? Do you have anything that you can talk about? That is what I meant.
Okay. I would ask Murakami-san, in charge of Cosmetics, to talk about that.
Yes. Yes. October, frankly speaking, we did have a high expectation after the lifting of the state of emergency, and the market is not recovering as much as our expectation. If you look at the SRI data, in June last year, after the end of the state of emergency, there was a double-digit growth. That was not the case in October this year. In comparison to Western nations, Japanese people are very cautious in consumption, so not many people are going out and having big parties, for example.
In November and onwards, there has been the lifting of the time restriction for the restaurants, so we are starting to see the gradual improvement. If you look at the number of the customers coming to the sales count of the department stores, it is increasing gradually. October was disappointing, as you said, but in November and onwards, we are thinking of stimulating the recovery.
Thank you. What about the HMPC?
Yes. This is Matsuda speaking. Yes. As Murakami-san said, frankly speaking, after the lifting of the state of emergency in October, we expected the reactivation of the consumption, but people are cautious. The election is now over, so we hear that many municipalities, local governments are preparing the coupons or vouchers, and also the distributors are preparing different campaigns.
Together with them, we want to stimulate the consumption. We have some campaigns prepared, so we will be trying to stimulate the consumption.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Miura. Thank you very much for many questions today. We have run over the time, but with that, we would like to end this briefing session. Thank you very much once again for joining us despite your very busy schedule. Thank you.