Let us start the online briefing for the third quarter FY 2022 financial results. My name is Ogawa. I'm with Communications and IR. I'll be the master of ceremonies today. Today, we have our CFO, Senior Executive Vice President Shinji Miyaji. Senior Executive Officer and General Manager of Finance & Control Division, Toshiro Kasuya, will talk to you today. The third quarter earnings announcements will be explained by our CFO, Miyaji, followed by Q&A session. We're scheduled to finish at 5:00 P.M. Thanks for your support and, Miyaji, please begin.
Yes, this is Miyaji speaking. Thank you. Please turn to page 3. These are today's key points. For the first nine months of FY 2022, net sales was JPY 1.4989 trillion. Operating profit was JPY 152.1 billion.
Net profit attributable to owners of the parent company was JPY 98.8 billion. Net sales reached a record high. The outlook for the full year is net sales of JPY 2.05 trillion. Operating profit of JPY 190 billion, lower than the previous forecast by JPY 40 billion. Net income attributable to owners of the parent company is JPY 92 billion, lower by JPY 28 billion, both due to high raw materials and fuel prices, declined PVC market in the chlor-alkali business, and a sharp decline in [crosstalk]advanced in the display business. Please turn to page five. I'll now explain the results for the first nine months of FY 2022. Sales were boosted by increased shipments of life sciences for chemicals-related products, electronic materials, and architectural glass and higher sales prices for chlor-alkali products and architectural glass.
In addition, the impact of weaker yen contributed to an increase in sales of JPY 265.3 billion compared with the same period of previous year. Operating profit increased by JPY 3.7 billion year-on-year due to the revenue increase factors mentioned earlier, despite the impact of higher raw materials and fuel prices, particularly in Europe. Profit before tax decreased by JPY 19.9 billion to JPY 165.2 billion due to a gain on sale of a North [inaudible]American building last in the same period of the previous year, despite gains on the sales of land and affiliates as other income. Net profit attributable to owners of the parent company was JPY 98.8 billion. Next, I will explain the results by segment. Please turn to page six.
In the first nine months of FY 2022, glass and electronics saw sales increase and profits decrease, with sales and profits both increasing in chemicals. Please turn to page 7. This section explains the variance in operating profit in the first nine months of FY 2022 compared with the same period of the previous year. Sales volume and product mix accounts for JPY 15.8 billion. Shipments of life science products for chemical related products, electronic materials, and architectural glass increased. The difference in sales price is JPY 147.1 billion. Selling prices of caustic soda and architectural glass increased. The raw material and fuel price differences is -JPY 131.9 billion . Raw materials and fuel prices increased mainly in Europe. The cost and other differences is -JPY 37.2 billion .
The manufacturing cost of displays increased due to the impact of foreign exchange rates. In addition, fixed costs and other costs in life sciences rose. As a result, the group recorded an increase in EBT of JPY 3.7 billion to JPY 152.1 billion, compared with JPY 148.4 billion in the prior year. Please turn to page 8. This is a balance sheet and a comparison with December 2021. Total assets amounted to JPY 3.0162 trillion, an increase of JPY 350.2 billion compared to the end of December 2021. There was a foreign exchange impact of about JPY 268.1 billion. The ratio was 0.38. Please turn to page 9.
This section explains the cash flow statement for the first nine months of FY 2022. Operating cash flow was JPY 158 billion. Investment cash flow, JPY 79.1 billion. As a result, free cash flow amounted to JPY 78.9 billion . Please turn to page 10. I will now explain capital expenditure, depreciation, and R&D. In the first nine months of FY 2022, capital expenditure was JPY 158.2 billion. Depreciation was JPY 137.5 billion. R&D expenditure was JPY 38.2 billion. I will now move to explanation of each segment. Please turn to page 12. First, let's take a look at the glass segment.
For Q3 of 2022, net sales were up year-over-year by JPY 106 billion to JPY 660.7 billion, and operating profit was down year-over-year by JPY 11.5 billion to JPY 13.7 billion. Architectural glass net sales increased by JPY 69.8 billion to JPY 349.7 billion due to increased shipments in Japan and Asia, as well as higher selling prices in all regions, especially in Europe, despite lower sales due to the divestiture of the North American architectural glass business.
Net sales of automotive glass increased by JPY 37.2 billion year-over-year to JPY 300.2 billion due to an increase in shipments as the effects of the price revision began to emerge, in addition to an easing in the impact of the shortfall in the supply of parts, including semiconductors. Operating profit decreased by JPY 11.5 billion from the same period last year due to the impact of higher raw material prices, which was partially, but not completely offset by the increase in revenues mentioned above. The ratio of the operating profit in the glass segment was 130% for architectural glass and -30% for automotive glass. Please turn to page 13. I would now like to make some additional comments on the architectural glass. Demand in Japan, Asia, and South America remain brisk.
On the other hand, Europe is in an adjustment phase, affected by higher energy prices and economic slowdown. I will now touch on the initiatives taken in Europe. Please turn to page 14. As you can tell from the graph on the left-hand side, in Europe, the price of natural gas has been rising since 2021. In response to this, in February 2022, we introduced an energy surcharge in our architectural glass business to pass on the higher price of natural gas to the selling price. In addition, in June, we formulated a BCP, a business continuity plan, in response to natural gas supply disruptions. In July, we launched the Low-Carbon Glass product. In October, we temporarily halted operations of our furnace in France and began adjusting operations at several sites, thereby responding quickly to the ever-changing trends in the European market.
The operations in Europe are in a temporary adjustment phase due to the emerging economic downturn. However, we expect profitability to recover in the mid to long-term basis due to an increase in demand for energy-saving glass. Therefore, our profitability should improve as we see recovery in the market. Next, I would like to explain the situation of automotive glass. Please turn to page 15. The business performance of automotive glass is in a very challenging situation. We have been explaining this to you from the past. This is due to the decline in the number of automobiles produced as a result of COVID-19, followed by a continued slump in the number of units produced due to supply chain disruptions, inclusive of semiconductors.
In response, we have revised our pricing policy, lowered fixed costs through structural reforms, and increased added value through the development of high-performance products. We have already implemented a wide range of price revisions. In response to rising gas prices in Europe and other regions, we are proceeding with further price revisions. Gas prices are still increasing, so we are ongoing with additional price revisions. Also, in the second half of 2022, the number of automobiles produced has already begun to recover moderately, especially in Asia. We believe, therefore, that the automotive glass adverse situation is over. We will continue to implement measures to improve profitability. Next, I will explain about the electronics segment. Please refer to page 16.
Cumulative sales for Q3 for 2022 increased by JPY 7.6 billion to JPY 225.8 billion. OP decreased by JPY 12.2 billion to JPY 12.3 billion. In the display business, net sales decreased by JPY 14.7 billion to JPY 121.6 billion due to a decrease in shipments of glass substrates for LCDs and specialty glass for displays. The shipment volume of glass substrates for LCDs decreased by high teens%. The sales price of glass substrates for LCDs fell slightly compared to the previous quarter.
Net sales of electronic materials increased by JPY 22 billion to JPY 102.5 billion due to an increase in shipments of semiconductor-related products, optoelectronics materials. Operating profit decreased by JPY 12.9 billion to JPY 12.3 billion due to an increase in depreciation expenses for glass substrates for LCDs accompanying the startup of new facilities and an increase in manufacturing costs resulting from the higher raw material and fuel costs and the effect of foreign exchange rates. The operating profit for this segment, the composition is electronic materials 120%, and display accounted for -20%. Please turn to page 17. Now I'd like to give you an additional explanation on the status of display business. Currently, panel makers are in an inventory adjustment phase due to the rebound in demand from the stay at home demand under COVID-19.
In addition, as we have explained to you before, one, we still have production lines that have not been optimized for large size panels. While we are still facing the challenge of an inefficient production system, the rising price of raw materials and fuel and the sharp depreciation of the yen have increased production costs and worsened our business performance, making the situation extremely severe. Although the demand is on the level of a temporary adjustment, stable growth is expected in the medium to long term basis. Because the TV demand, we forecast about 200 million units or so. Of course, as we see other display panels getting larger, we do believe, we should get back on the steady trajectory.
We will accelerate efforts to improve asset efficiency, including the ongoing conversion to optimal facilities for large size panel production and consideration of drastic profit improvement measures like the chemical segment. Please turn to page 18. In the first nine months of 2022, net sales amounted to JPY 599.1 billion, operating profit JPY 122.9 billion, representing an increase of JPY 148.4 billion in sales and a JPY 26.9 billion profit compared to the same period last year. In chlor-alkali and ethylene, sales increased by JPY 92.2 billion to JPY 371.4 billion due to favorable market conditions for caustic soda as well as the impact of foreign exchange rates.
In chemical and specialty, sales increased by JPY 26.2 billion to JPY 115.9 billion due to significant increase in shipments in chlor-alkali for chemical-related products, then deposited [crosstalk]conductor-related applications. Life science sales increased by JPY 29.4 billion year-on-year to JPY 110.3 billion due to an increase in contract sales for both synthetic pharmaceutical and agrochemical CDMOs and biopharmaceutical CDMOs. Operating profit increased by JPY 26.9 billion to JPY 132.9 billion compared with the same period of prior year. The composition of operating profit in the chemical segment was 60% chlor-alkali and ethylene, 20% were chemical and specialty, and 20% life sciences. Please turn to page 19. This is additional information on the caustic soda and PVC market in Southeast Asia. The caustic soda market remained at a high level, partly because of high-level electricity charges in Europe.
From this impact, basically mean the global market for caustic soda was quite tight. The natural gas prices also high. In terms of PVC stream, there was a long term impact of the lockdown in China and the monsoon in India also lasted longer than usual. Therefore, there was a disruption in the PVC business in Southeast Asia and the spread was narrowed in the third quarter. We believe that the PVC market is expected to cease to fall over the course of the fourth quarter, but we do not expect a sudden or rapid recovery in this area. Please turn to page 20. Next, I would like to talk about the fluorochemical and specialty business, which is growing in both sales and operating profit.
AGC has positioned fluorochemicals and specialty business, as you can see to the left of this panel, as a growing business with high productivity and capital efficiency. Although this is not part of our strategic business, we do have high expectation for these businesses for high growth. Our group strength is shown in the middle of this slide. We have a long term experience with a fluorochemical technology. We have been cost-saving this for many years. Now in the market, the demand is expanding. There are many niche markets. Our products are very specialized. We have many world's number one market share products. We are growing very fast in this area. Based on this trend, we would like to achieve sales of more than JPY 200 billion by 2024.
Life science by 2024 would achieve or exceed the sales of JPY 200 billion. Almost at the same time, we would expect the fluorochemicals and specialty to reach the same size in terms of business. We would like to ask you to focus on this segment. Please turn to page 21. This is the strategic business. Overall, this business recorded sales of JPY 233 billion, profit of JPY 49.9 billion in the first nine months of FY 2022. This is a year-on-year increase of JPY 56 billion and JPY 15.3 billion, respectively. Third quarter group profit versus the ratio of strategic business. Well, basically, 60% of the profit is coming from strategic business in the third quarter. Therefore, the business is steadily expanding, particularly in life sciences and electronics.
Please turn to page 22. This is the performance by region. I'm comparing the first 9 months of FY 2022 to the same period of the prior year. In Japan and Asia, sales and profits increased due to higher sales prices for caustic soda despite the impacts of higher raw materials and fuel prices, as well as higher production costs for glass substrates for LCDs and architectural glass. In the Americas, sales of contract biopharmaceutical increased, although a transfer of the North American architectural glass business had a negative impact on the revenues. Sales increased and profit decreased mainly due to the upfront fixed costs for the expansion of the biopharmaceutical business at our lab in Tokyo Seibu[inaudible]. In Europe, sales prices increased in architectural glass. Sales increased but profit decreased mainly due to the impact of higher natural gas prices. Please turn to page 24.
I will now explain the full year forecast for the first full year ending December 2022. As I mentioned at the beginning, the forecast for the full year operating income and the items below has been revised downwards from the August 2 announcement. Net sales are expected to rise by JPY 352.6 billion to JPY 2.05 trillion, while operating profit will decrease by JPY 16.2 billion. Profit before tax will decrease by JPY 31.8 billion to JPY 177 billion. Profit attributable to owners of the parent is expected to decrease by JPY 31.8 billion to JPY 92 billion. We have also revised our full year exchange rate forecast to JPY 132 to the U.S. dollar and JPY 137 to the euro.
The full year forecast for Dubai crude oil prices has been revised to $100 per barrel. Please refer to page 25. Next, I will explain the key points of the revised forecast by segment. We have left the previous forecast for net sales unchanged due to price revisions in the glass segment and the impact of the yen's depreciation. The forecast for operating profit is revised downwards in all segments due to the rise in raw material and fuel prices, impact of the decline in the PVC market and the chlor-alkali business, and sharp decline in demand in display business. Please turn to page 26. I will now explain the forecast for each business segment for Q4 of FY 2022.
In the glass segment, there are concerns about the impacts of continued strong raw material prices, and the economic slowdown in Europe and other regions on architectural glass. In automotive glass, moderate recovery is expected in global auto manufacturing volume, recovering from the impact of shortfalls in component supply, including semiconductors. Although there are concerns about the impacts of higher and rising raw materials and fuel prices, the effect of the revised pricing policy is expected to emerge. In the electronic segment, with regards to displays, sales of glass substrates for LCDs are expected to be affected by the impact of capacity utilization adjustments by LCD panel manufacturers, the impact of the sharp rise in raw materials and fuel prices, and the weakening of the yen, which will lead to higher manufacturing cost.
In the specialty glass for display, shipments are expected to increase due to the demanding season. In electronic materials, shipments of optoelectronics materials and semiconductor-related products are expected to increase. In the flat glass materials, there are concerns about the impact of economic slowdown on demand. In the chemicals, with regard to chlor-alkali for the year ahead, market prices for caustic soda will remain at high level. Although the PVC spread contracted in Q3, the PVC market is expected to bottom out in Q4. In fluoroproducts and specialty, demand for fluorochemical-related products, particularly for semiconductor applications, is expected to remain strong and shipments are expected to increase. In the life science business, CDMO demand for synthetics and agrochemicals is expected to be strong. In biopharmaceutical CDMO, a reactionary downturn is expected in Q4 due to the concentration of contract sales in Q3.
Specifically, this is due to the temporary occurrence of NBC, the biopharmaceutical cancellation fees in Q3. Please refer to page 27. There's no change in the outlook for strategic business. As a result of steady growth of business, we expect net sales of JPY 320 billion and operating profit of JPY 70 billion for the full year. Please refer to page 28. The annual capital expenditure forecast have been revised from those announced at the beginning of the fiscal year to JPY 240 billion and JPY 185 billion, respectively. R&D expenses unchanged from the initial forecast of JPY 54 billion. With that will be the end of my presentation. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Miyaji-san. Now we would like to open the floor for questions. If you have a question, please, click the Q&A button and enter your question. We would like to start with some of the questions that we had received in advance.
First question. Can you please explain the outlook for FY 2023 for each of your segments? Can you please explain the outlook for FY 2023 for each of your segments? Miyaji-san, please take this question.
This is next year. Which means that, we're not really in a position to be able to provide detailed explanation about the outlook now, and the economic situation is very unstable, and there is hardly any visibility into the future. Please wait until February next year until we make the announcement. As I have explained earlier, in the automotive glass segment, it has really hit bottom, and the volume has started to recover. If everything goes as normal, the performance related to automotive should recover. Display is also close to bottom, but once the investment in inventory adjustment is completed, although it's very difficult to tell when, demand is definitely there. We believe that we will see recovery in that segment as well. We can be pretty much convinced in saying this.
We believe that the strategic segments will continue to grow steadily next year. Other than that, in all the other segments, we have to think about the impact of the economy, which is very difficult to forecast at this point in time. That's all I can share with you at this point in time. Thank you for your understanding.
Now the next question relates to the concerns related to the slowdown and the semiconductor related demand. We would like to ask for your outlook for EUV and also semiconductor related products and also the PVC market where there has been a large adjustment.
This is Miyaji answering. In terms of the semiconductor, the market itself is in a downturn. The high-end products are not overly impacted by this trend. As far as AGC, EUV, and also because of the customers' utilization, we have seen some weakness, but CMP and others are favorable, so we are not overly concerned. Of course, EUV is under adjustment, but while the demand continues to increase. Therefore, we believe next year onwards we shall see a dramatic recovery. Now in terms of the PVC market, to be honest with you, the drop which has been larger than expected. We didn't really expect the impact from the prolonged lockdown in China to be so large. We do not believe this will be continued either.
We shall see a recovery at some point. One point that we are concerned relates to the global economy. How brisk and how solid would it be? Also, how quickly shall we see a recovery in China? What will become of the lockdown and the economic growth? Those are definitely the concerns. In terms of Southeast Asia, as we have shared this before, if it becomes weaker, there has been an investment for infrastructure to support the economy. We are not overly concerned about the demand diminishing in Southeast Asia. The question is, how the PVC price will move depending on the Chinese economic situation. At this point, it is highly uncertain at this particular juncture. We're not overly concerned that it will get worse than it is now.
Whether the demand will fully recover, it is hard to tell at this moment.
Moving on to the next question. In the second quarter earnings announcement, Mr. Miyaji, you said that there will be no major adjustment for the PVC. Since summer, there's been major adjustments. Maybe the company is not very good at forecasting the assumptions, market assumptions for the short term. What is your view on this, Mr. Miyaji?
Second quarter earnings announcement up until then, high price was continuing. Just immediately before the announcement, there was a decline in PVC price. It was expected. I thought it would recover, but the recovery was weaker than expected. Therefore, yes, maybe we were not very good at forecasting what happened for the short term. In the second half, as I mentioned before, the level was still high. It was too good to be true, and we had to expect some adjustment. At the time, I mentioned that there should be no sharp decline, and there should be mild adjustments. That was our forecast. Based on that, we covered it up. We saw a quick dip. In fact, the lockdown in China at the time was difficult to know about or understand about. Things have settled down.
This year with the global automotive production from this year into next year, what are some of the risks you anticipate? Our CFO, Miyaji, would answer this.
The production volume for automotive, there has been expectations that it may recover, but perhaps it is not happening. Initially it was expected to be 2023, but now perhaps it will be pushed back to 2024. That is the current state in terms of the recovery of the global automotive production. As far as Asia is concerned, already we are seeing some improvement in the supply of semiconductors. The production volume is coming back, therefore it is bouncing back. We do have this data from IHS. We always take reference to this data. According to this, in 2021, 77.2 million units. That was the actual number. For 2022, 81.3 million. In comparison to the previous year, as we increased in 2023, 85.9 million.
Prior to COVID-19, about 90 million was the unit. We believe that is the trajectory to recovery. Next question. Input costs such as energy. Regarding the key input costs, what is your expectation of how the price would transition in the future, Mr. Miyaji? As far as input cost is concerned, gas and electricity are the big ones. Specifically with regard to gas, we should talk about gas in Europe. Energy surcharge in the architectural glass, we basically passed on the price increase, so we have absorbed most of that. We don't have the same mechanism for automotive glass. It's troubling. It's more difficult for us. Gas price right now, because of high level of inventory has come down recently, but this is only temporary.
After the winter, the inventory would be lower and they have to be refilled again. We don't know if we will see another price surge like we did this year, but it will probably trend high. Electricity is generated sometimes by gas. In terms of energy costs, we expect the electricity price to also trend high. Architectural glass energy surcharge is one mechanism that we should take advantage of. For automotive, we use both gas and electricity, so through a price revision, we want to make a recovery. I think it's very important to combine different measures such as these. Next question. We have seen a decline in the natural gas price. Will there be an improvement in the raw material and fuel costs for architectural glass for Q4? Again, Miyaji-san, please.
In terms of the cost for raw material and fuel, of course that is related to gas, so it is bound to come down. The largest market, which is in Europe. What is important is Q4 numbers. We have Christmas and the winter season. Therefore, the architectural glass, you will not see much of a movement. We do not believe that this would lead to a dramatic improvement in the performance.
Next question. Chemical segment, sub-segment, OP ratio. That's the question. Based on this ratio, life science OP, we calculate that in the third quarter it's improving dramatically. What is actually behind this? And also, do you think this high level of profit is sustainable? You also mentioned cancellation fees, so please talk about the impact of cancellation fees as well. Mr. Kasuya, please.
Every quarter, the ratio of profit is shown as an image. We are only showing in 10% increments, which means that every quarter the numbers are fluctuating to some extent. If you use this multiplication, third quarter life science profit looks as if it has grown dramatically and the margin seems to be quite high. The actual fluctuation or change is not that large in the first, second and third. As far as the cancellation fees is concerned, some clients wanted a guarantee of operation and some fees have been paid to us to make it work. I cannot really name specific names, but some form of a profit guarantee is actually being provided. This is supportive for our revenue, and it's within the contract.
Next question related to glass OPM for Q4. Q4, the operating profit expectation year-on-year basis is expected to improve by JPY 3 billion. If you look at the architectural and automotive glass, what are your outlooks? Miyaji-san, please, for this segment.
This is primarily from automotive glass because we are expecting improvement in the units production volumes and the price revision is underway. The impact we shall see. Automotive will be primarily the factor behind that.
Price increase for automobile glass. How much increase did you achieve? In the third quarter, despite the price increase, you're still running deficit because of the market price deterioration. What can we expect in terms of impact from the price revision going forward?
The EU automotive segment is in the worst status right now, so we are focused on that right now.
The price increase range will expand. Price revision has already been implemented to some extent, but until the end of the year, the larger the price hike. Glass price was surging, and the normal price revision range would not have been sufficient for improvement. Additional price revision is being implemented as we speak until the end of the year. We will be seeing the impact of this in the fourth quarter. We should expect some degree of impact coming from this. Outside of the EU, in France, the impact of our price revision will be mostly for next year.
For this year, we will see some impact in Europe, but for automotive business in general, we cannot expect an overall improvement or recovery because we don't have enough time left till the end of this year. We will begin to see the impact in the next year.
Next question relates to the glass business. If you can give us more color on region and also how we are seeing seasonality in terms. Are you seeing more inquiries for low-E or low emissivity glass? Again, Miyaji-san, please answer.
I have already shown the slide in my presentation. As you can tell from this, the weather forecast, so Brazil continues to be fairly brisk. Japan and Southeast Asia, it's cloudy to sunny weather. Not completely sunny and fair. However, it is much better than before. The pricing has been rising.
Therefore, not moving too fast here. Of course, in terms of asset efficiency, we still have some issues. All in all, we are definitely reaching towards a satisfactory level. The question, the area under concern is Europe. The demand continues to be very strong. Of course, yes, we need to reduce our gas consumption. To have higher density for the buildings, that is an emergency. Because a lot of the heat is discharged from windows as far as buildings are concerned. They will need to make this highly efficient. The windows needs to be highly efficient. That is the emergency issue. We shall see a push from this renovation wave. This is fairly strong. However, at this particular juncture, we are seeing some uncertainty in the economy.
The demand is strong, but there is a concern whether this is sustainable. Also, if you were to add an energy surcharge, the potential glass will become extremely expensive. Of course everything's expensive, inclusive of the construction cost. The demand is strong, however, the cost surge may actually dampen that demand strength.
There's a question on the sustainability of this. Next question, display segment fourth quarter operating margin. Fourth quarter, it's going to be flat. For display and electronic materials, what is the breakdown and what is the view for each of these sub-segments? Mr. Miyaji.
Electronic materials is usually second half heavy in terms of volume, so it will continue to do well. As for display...
Operational adjustment by our clients will continue for a while, and therefore the situation will continue to be challenging for display business. That is our outlook.
Next question is also on display glass. Corning has mentioned the panel makers' operation has bottomed out in September. What is the outlook for AGC?
In terms of the demand for glass, our outlook is not overly different from Corning. Display glass, the total demand as a whole, in Q4 we shall see a slight increase on a Q-on-Q basis. However, in terms of shipments for AGC, because of the timing of the recovery of the operation of the clients, we shall see a slight decline for Q-on-Q. Therefore, there will be a slight difference, slightly different trend in comparison to the market.
Beyond that, for FY 2023, when the first half, we shall see the inventory adjustment take its round. Perhaps in the second half of 2023 we shall see a full-fledged recovery. That is the current outlook.
Next question. EUV mask blanks year-over-year growth can you speak about this? Over nine months, so to clarify, year-over-year, and also quarter-over-quarter comparison would be appreciated.
As I explained in the previous earnings announcement. Because of the preparation by a client, we are at a flat phase right now. Year-over-year. It is basically about the same level as the previous year. Q and Q is a little bit too detailed for me to comment on.
As for this year, we expect the levels to be the same as the previous year and the recovery should happen next year and beyond. We expect a big volume increase starting from next year.
Next is related to the outlook for the full year. Why have you decided to revise the full year forecast in such a short duration of time? Again, Miyaji-san, please.
At the time of the announcement, JPY 210 billion. That's the number that we have disclosed. In terms of the first half and the second half comparison. We have JPY 95 billion, and then we have the remainder in the second half. That has been the initial expectation. However, we have JPY 115 billion on the first half in terms of profit, therefore more profit in the first half.
Therefore, we actually sustained JPY 115 billion for the second half, thereby reaching the number. At the level the first half was fairly high. In the second half. At that point, we do not see many factors to revise this downward to JPY 115 billion. Therefore, JPY 230 billion was the initial announcement. As a result, right now, perhaps we will have about JPY 75 billion for the second half of the year given the current trends. Because of the factors I have explained today, the performance was weaker than initially expected. That's where we stand.
Next question. Downward revision. The performance and the payout ratio for this year is higher than 60%. The possibility of a reduced dividend. Miyaji-san, please.
The 40% is the threshold, the benchmark. We want to keep it stable and be flexible with our share buyback. That is our policy. Right now we see no possibility of reducing dividends.
Next question. The cash and deposit level is fairly high. However, the CapEx is on the decline. If you have excess liquidity, would you consider share buybacks? Again, Miyaji-san, please answer.
There is a CapEx. The progress of these large scale projects are delayed. For this fiscal term, we have seen a decline in the amount of CapEx. However, the projects are still ongoing, so it just so happens that amounts spent this year is lower. Q4 onwards, we shall see more expenses have been realized. Therefore, on a full year basis, this is the outlook. In terms of excess capital and excess cash, it may appear to have been accumulating.
We do have cash has been accumulated in the companies that may have opportunities. Also as we have more CapEx that would start to decline. Share buybacks, we would like to look into that flexibly. Nothing has been decided right now. That's the general policy right now.
Next question. Economic outlook is showing signs. Do you intend to adjust your CapEx plans for this fiscal year? Mr. Miyaji.
CapEx is set high for strategic and across businesses. We believe that business will grow regardless of the economy. Therefore, we do not see any need to revisit the plan as of now. When it comes to the core business, we have already narrowed down and selected the CapEx plan. I don't think we need to revisit the policy right now.
Next question.
ロシア事業の現状を教えてください。また当面継続されるのでしょうか？というご質問でございます。これにつきましても、ミヤジさんお願いいたします。
このロシア事業ですけども、今年、ああいうことが起きまして、すぐに新投資をしないということを決めてですね、当然、新投資はしていませんし、それからEUの制裁などとの関係ともありますので、今はそういう意味ではロシア単独で、事業運営できる、完全に、スタンドアローンで動いてるような感じです。もちろん人も出入りは一切できませんし、そういう状態です。今のところは、ロシアの事業として、運営できていますので、そういう状況なんですけども、いろいろと、状況変化もありますので、これも前から申し上げているとおり、その状況に合わせてですね、様々な可能性、もちろん、ケースケースとして、ケースケースに対応していきたいというふうに思っております。
はい。次のご質問にまいります。四半期の純利益に対しまして、親会社の収支に帰属する当期純利益が、小さくなっておりますが、これはどういう理由からでしょうか？というご質問でございます。これにつきましては、経営財務部長のKasuya よりご回答申し上げます。Kasuyaさん、お願いいたします。
純利益に対しましては、親会社所属とですね、引き締まして、支配持ち分と二つに分かれるわけですけれども、あちこち、東南アジアを中心とした海外のクロールアルカリ事業が、また減速ということでございます。それらの、東南アジアの、クロールアルカリ事業に関してはですね、いわゆる100%出資ではなく、ジョイントベンチャーで運営しておりまして、それが例えばタイで7割、インドネシアで5割強と、というのがAGC会社の、出資比率と、そういうことになります。したがいまして、海外クロールアルカリ事業の、利益に関しては、利益配分の方にですね、逃げるという、部分みたいな、それが影響を出しているという状況となります。戦略事業はですね、100%、出資で、運営している、ほとんどでございますので、各事業の割合が大きくなる、そういう意味では純利益、親会社所属の純利益が、増えているということが起きております。
ご質問なんですけれども、今承っているご質問が残り一つとなっております。追加でご質問がある場合はですね、ぜひ、Q&AボタンをおしていただいてですねI、チャットで書き込んでいただければと思います。それでは次のご質問にまいります。為替の動きや中国をはじめとした地政学の動向が、大阪ガスへの投資、生産活動に関して計画に影響を及ぼす可能性がありますでしょうか。また、為替の動向によって海外の利益を日本に還流することはありますでしょうか？というご質問でございます。宮地さん、お願いいたします。
地政学リスクというか、結構皆さんご存知の通りのことが起きているわけですから、リスクヘッジを含めて、もちろん考えないといけないという状況です。短期的に、何か今大きな、設備投資とか何か、計画変化があるかっていうと、それはないですけども、中長期的に考えたときに、今、地政学リスクを考えた上で、それをですね、ステージを、各々考えながら考えていく必要があるというのは、これは、当然のことだというふうに思います。大々な、動き等、起こることはありませんし、現金預金も、日本国内に、現預金がですね、あるというのは確かで、それはその、還流することによる、税金の問題等、あるいは為替の問題等がありますので、そこも考えてはいますけど、大々な、為替の動きなどから、現金大きく日本に還流することみたいなことを考えているわけではございません。
ミヤジさん、ありがとうございました。追加のご質問がないようでございます。そして、終了時間が迫っておりますので、これで質疑応答を終了させていただきます。もし追加でご質問がある場合は、ぜひ今一度IR担当にご連絡をいただければと思います。本日はお忙しい中、ご参加いただきましてありがとうございました。これにて2022年12月期第3四半期決算説明会を終了いたします。Zoom画面を閉じますと、アンケート画面に移動いたします。所要時間は5分ほどですので、今後のIR活動改善のために、ぜひアンケートへのご協力をお願いいたします。なお、さらにご質問がある場合は、お問い合わせ窓口にご連絡ください。電話番号を申し上げます。03-3218-5096。03-3218-5096です。本日は誠にありがとうございました。
It's 033-218-5090. Thank you very much for your kind attendance.