It is time. We would now like to begin AGC Inc, the financial results announcement meeting for the first quarter of FY 2022. I will be the moderator for this session. My name is Chikako Ogawa from the Corporate Communications & IR Division. We would like to introduce the speakers for today. Representative Director, Senior Executive Vice President, CFO Shinji Miyaji. Senior Executive Officer, General Manager of Finance & Control Division, Toshiro Kasuya. We have two speakers from AGC. First of all, our CFO, Miyaji, will give you the overview of the first quarter of FY 2022, after which we will proceed to Q&A. We expect to close the meeting at 5:00 P.M. Tokyo time. Mr. Miyaji, the floor is yours.
Good afternoon. This is Miyaji, the CFO. Please turn to page three. Key points of today's presentation. In the first quarter of 2022, despite the impact of rising raw material and fuel prices, sales prices for caustic soda, polyvinyl chloride, PVC, and architectural glass rose, and shipments of fluorochemical-related products increased, as well as steady expansion of strategic businesses, resulting in net sales increase of JPY 79.1 billion year-on-year at JPY 472.7 billion, and operating income increase of JPY 13.6 billion year-on-year at JPY 57.8 billion. Net income attributable to the owner of the parent was JPY 30.5 billion, up JPY 1.7 billion year-on-year. Both sales and operating income reached record highs for a first quarter.
The full year forecast for 2022 remains unchanged since the announcement in February of this year in view of the current uncertain social and economic conditions. Please turn to page five. Highlights for the first quarter in terms of sales. Shipments of architectural glass, fluorochemical-related products, and electronic materials increased, and sales prices of chloralkali products and architectural glass increased. In addition, due to the impact of the depreciation of the Japanese yen, sales increased by JPY 79.1 billion year-on-year. Operating income was up despite the rise in natural gas prices in Europe, the increase in depreciation costs associated with the launch of new equipment for LCD glass substrates and electronic materials, and the rise in display manufacturing costs due to the effects of exchange rates.
In addition to the factors mentioned earlier, the manufacturing cost was reduced due to the improvement in the operating rates of the fluorochemical-related manufacturing facilities, resulting in an increase in profit of JPY 13.6 billion. Income before income taxes increased by JPY 10.2 billion- JPY 54.4 billion between the recording of business structural improvement expenses in the European automobile glass as other expenses and foreign exchange gains in other income. Net income attributable to owners of the parent was JPY 30.5 billion. Next, the business performance by segment. Please turn to page six. In the first quarter of 2022, glass and electronics recorded higher sales and lower profit, while both sales and profit increased for chemicals. Please turn to page seven. Variance analysis of the operating income, a year-on-year comparison.
Sales volume and product mix was JPY +10.3 billion. Shipment of electronic materials, architectural glass, fluorochemical-related products, and life science products increased. Selling price JPY +48 billion with a rise in sales prices for chloralkali products and architectural glass. Fuel and raw material costs JPY -31.2 billion. In addition to rising natural gas prices in Europe, ethylene and electricity prices were higher. Costs and others, JPY -13.6 billion. Although manufacturing costs were reduced due to the improvement in the operating rate of the fluorochemical-related manufacturing facilities, depreciation costs in electronics increased. As a result of the above, profit increased by JPY 13.6 billion year-on-year to JPY 57.8 billion, compared with JPY 44.2 billion in the previous year. Please turn to page eight.
Next, the financial position compared to the end of December 2021. Total assets were JPY 2,821.2 billion, an increase of JPY 155.2 billion from the end of December 2021. The impact of foreign exchange was JPY +104 billion. The debt-to-equity ratio was 0.42. Please turn to page nine.
I would like to explain our cash flow statement for the first quarter of FY 2022. Operating cash flow was JPY 60.3 billion, and investing cash flow was JPY 30.5 billion. As a result, free cash flow was JPY 29.8 billion. Please refer to page 10. Capital expenditure, depreciation, and R&D expenses are shown here. CapEx for the first quarter of FY 2022 were JPY 40.4 billion. Depreciation expenses were JPY 42.7 billion, and R&D expenses were JPY 12 billion. Next, I will move on to the explanation by segment. Please refer to page 12. First, let's look at the glass segment.
In the first quarter of FY 2022, net sales was JPY 197.6 billion, and operating income was JPY 4 billion, an increase of JPY 17.1 billion in sales, and decrease of JPY 5.6 billion in profit compared to the same period last year. Architectural glass increased by JPY 14.7 billion to JPY 103.8 billion due to an increase in shipments in all regions except South America, and higher sales prices in all regions, especially in Europe, despite a decrease in sales due to the transfer of the North American architectural glass business. Automotive glass sales increased by JPY 2.8 billion- JPY 93.5 billion due to the sales mix and the weaker yen, despite a decrease in shipments due to the impact of inadequate components, including semiconductor shortages.
Operating income decreased compared with the same period of the previous year due to higher raw material and fuel costs, such as natural gas in Europe, and an increase in manufacturing costs for auto glass due to decline in the utilization rate, despite the factors contributing to the increase in sales mentioned above. The proportion of operating income of the glass segment to total sales was 11% for architectural glass and, minus 10% for auto glass. Please refer to page 13. With regard to the automotive glass profits as a pressing issue for our management, and we will take further measures to address this issue. Specifically, we would like to promote pricing policy, structural reforms, and aim for more higher performance products. These are the major pillars of our measures.
In terms of pricing policy, in response to the rising price of raw materials and fuel since September last year, we have been negotiating for price hikes in all regions of the world and have already achieved price hikes in some areas. However, the price hikes have not yet been sufficient to absorb the increase in raw materials and fuel prices. We are far from being able to ensure the sustainability of our business. We will make further efforts to revisit the pricing strategy and attempt to improve our profits further. In structural reforms, we are promoting this globally, including the consolidation and elimination of product production bases and lines. We will accelerate efforts in Europe, in particular, where we have more issues. I would like to give you the details in the following pages.
Investments are for adding more high performance products, which is expected to expand due to CASE and EVs. We would like to market for head-up displays and also large size dimmable roof glasses, 5G antenna glass, and other exterior glass products for autos. We will also focus on interior glass products, such as car display cover glass. By steadily implementing these measures, we aim to achieve ROCE of 10% or higher by 2025. Please refer to page 14. I would like to explain our efforts to improve the profitability of the automotive glass in Europe. In Europe, as explained in the previous page, we will implement the pricing policy and also seek for higher performance products. As far as the structural reforms are concerned, we will conduct further consolidation.
In terms of the production capability, by 2025, in comparison to 2021, we will reduce the capacity by approximately 30%. By steadily implementing these measures, we aim to make European automotive glass profitable by 2023. Please turn to page 15.
Next is the electronics segment. In the first quarter of 2022, sales totaled JPY 76 billion, and operating profit totaled JPY 8 billion. Year-on-year, sales increased by JPY 6.4 billion, and profit was down JPY 700 million. As for displays, shipments of LCD substrates and specialty glass for displays decreased, resulting in JPY 1.1 billion decrease year-on-year at JPY 45 billion. Shipments of LCD glass substrates decreased by a lower single-digit percent quarter-on-quarter. The selling price was higher by a lower single-digit percent quarter-on-quarter due to tighter supply and demand.
Due to shipments in electronics materials, including semiconductor-related products such as EUV mask blanks and optoelectronic components and PCB increasing, sales increased by JPY 7.4 billion year-on-year to JPY 13.4 billion. As for operating income, despite the factors that increased sales, as mentioned earlier, due to the launch of new equipment for LCD glass substrate manfacturing, as well as increasing depreciation and the effects of higher fuel and raw material prices and foreign exchange, profit decreased by JPY 700 million year-on-year to JPY 8 billion. The operating income composition for this segment was 20% displays and 80% electronics materials. Please turn to page 16. Chemical segment.
In the first quarter of 2022, net sales were JPY 192.2 billion, and operating income was JPY 45.2 billion, an increase of JPY 54.9 billion in sales and an increase of JPY 19.7 billion in profit. Sales of chloralkali urethane increased by JPY 39.5 billion year-on-year to JPY 121.7 billion due to the rise in sales price of caustic soda and PVC. Fluorochemical and specialty sales increased by JPY 8.7 billion year-on-year to JPY 35.6 billion due to a big increase in shipments of fluorochemical related products for semiconductors and automobiles.
Life Sciences sales increased by JPY 6.6 billion year-on-year to JPY 34.5 billion due to increasing contracts for synthetic pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, and an increase in contracts for biopharma, including new coronavirus related products. Operating income increased by JPY 19.7 billion year-on-year at JPY 45.2 billion. The operating income composition of the chemical segment was 70% chloralkali and urethane, 20% fluorochemical and specialty, and 10% life sciences, roughly. Life sciences profit margin declined year-on-year. This was due to a large increase in profits in the chemical segment as a whole due to factors such as the reaction to the concentration of high margin projects in the first quarter of last year, and the timing of the cost that was generated in relation to these facilities. The life sciences business itself continued to perform strongly, and there are no concerns.
The profit contribution percentage-wise decreased, but the business itself is continuing to grow. We have no reason to be worried into the future. Please turn to page 17. Let me supplement the market conditions for caustic soda and PVC in Southeast Asia. In the first quarter of 2022, caustic soda market remained high. PVC prices peaked in the first quarter of last year, or the fourth quarter of last year, then softened. In addition, PVC spreads shrank slightly due to the rise in ethylene prices. The favorable market conditions continue for chloralkali overall. Please turn to page 18. Performance of the strategic businesses. Overall, strategic businesses sales for the first quarter were JPY 71.3 billion, and operating income was JPY 14.1 billion, up JPY 15.8 billion in sales, and up JPY 2.8 billion in profit.
We are steadily expanding our businesses centering on electronics and life sciences. Please turn to page 19. I will now explain the results by region compared to the first quarter of 2022 with the same period of the previous year. In Japan and Asia, although shipments of glass for automotives and glass substrates for LCDs decreased, sales and income increased due to higher sales prices of caustic soda and PVC, and increased shipments of semiconductor related products such as parts for optoelectronics, architectural glass, and mask blanks for EUV lithography. In the Americas, despite a decrease in sales due to the transfer of the architectural glass business in North America, sales prices of architectural glass in South America increased, and the CDMO business of biopharmaceutical products increased.
On the other hand, fixed income or fixed costs increased due to capacity expansion of biopharmaceuticals, resulting in an increase in sales and decrease in profit. Europe sales and earnings increased due to higher prices for raw materials and fuel, despite higher sales prices and increased shipments of architectural glass. Please turn to page 21. I would now like to explain the full year forecast for the year ending December 31, 2022. Although the first quarter results were favorable, we have not changed our forecast for operating results and dividends, which were announced in February 2022, in light of the current international and economic situation, raw materials and fuel prices, foreign exchange rate trends, and other factors that make the outlook for the future extremely uncertain.
We forecast net sales of JPY 1.8 trillion, operating income of JPY 210 billion, and net income attributable to owners of the parent of JPY 115 billion. No changes have been made to the assumptions for forex and crude oil prices.
Please refer to page 22. Full year forecast by segment for FY 2022 remain unchanged from the initial forecast. Please refer to page 23. Outlook by business segment, likewise, no change from the initial forecast. Please refer to page 24. Also, there's no change in the initial forecast for our strategic businesses. We see a steady increase in the performance. We expect net sales of JPY 310 billion, operating income of JPY 65 billion for FY 2022. Please refer to page 25. CapEx, depreciation, R&D expenses unchanged from the initial forecast. CapEx for the full year expected to be JPY 280 billion. Depreciation expenses, JPY 180 billion. R&D expenses expected to be JPY 54 billion.
There has been a significant increase in CapEx in comparison to the previous year, and I would like to make additional explanation. Please turn to page 26. This is the last slide. On May 6, we announced a major enhancement of the capacity of our chloralkali business in Thailand. I would like to give you an overview for this expansion. AGC has decided to increase the capacity of its two bases in Thailand through AGC Vinythai, a new company integrating its chloralkali business in the Indochina Peninsula. The total investment is expected to exceed JPY 100 billion, making this the largest ever investment by the AGC Group. As a result of this enhancement, our caustic soda production capacity in Southeast Asia will be increased by 15%, and our PVC monomer and PVC resin production capacity will increase by more than 30%.
The group's share of caustic soda and PVC resin production capacity in the region will increase from approximately 50% to a higher and more of a solid position as a market leader. In Southeast Asia, demand for caustic soda and PVC is expected to grow at an annual rate of about 4% as the region's economy grows and infrastructure investment expands. In this growing market, we will leverage our strong market presence to steadily capture growing demand. This concludes my presentation. Thank you very much.
Thank you. That was a presentation by CFO Miyaji. We will now take questions. If you wish to ask question, please click on the Q&A button on the screen and enter write in your questions. We also accept questions verbally. If you wish to ask question verbally, please click on the reaction and click on the Raise Hand icon. Please wait for your name to be identified by myself. If you're participating through the phone channel, please press star nine. English questions are accepted only through writing using the Q&A button. We will first go over the questions that we received earlier. The first question, compared to your plan, what were the positives and negatives for the first quarter results? CFO Miyaji will respond to that question.
Overall, the results were favorable. In fact, we set new highs for sales and profit. By segment, there are positives and negatives. The results were mixed. For chloralkali, of course, we continue to enjoy stronger market prices. For strategic businesses, as mentioned earlier, in life science, compared to the previous year, slight decline in profit, but the business itself is growing. For electronics and other strategic businesses, no issue, and therefore, the positives included strong performance in strategic businesses. In addition, for fluorochemical and specialty, we saw strong growth. Due to the shortage of capacity, we expanded our capacity, which affected the profit on a temporary basis, but we were still able to generate high profit, which is another positive. As for architectural glass in Europe, the natural gas prices in Europe were higher, which was a negative.
Overall, I think we did pretty well. The fuel and raw materials increased rapidly, but we were able to generate the results as planned. I think they were at the acceptable level. The negatives are clear. In the automotive glass, we are still seeing the impact, especially in Europe. More so than we had expected, so that was a big negative. Another negative factor, the specialty glass for display. In Korea, China, and Taiwan, we are producing in those countries, but the depreciation of the yen are having an impact on our manufacturing cost directly. That's another negative. Overall, positive, but from business to business, there were mixed results. That is all. We'd like to move on to the next question.
With the crude oil and also natural gas and the coal price increase, what sort of impact would it pose on a full year performance? CFO Miyaji would like to answer that question.
What has been the most, the largest impact so far in terms of the price increase is the natural gas price in Europe. Of course, we have a lot of, large number of furnaces in Europe, and, because of the rise in the natural gas price, it is directly hitting our performance, and therefore, the cost increase is immensely the largest here in Europe. Now, in terms of the architectural glass, since February this year onward, we have been introducing the energy surcharge. If the gas price increases then certain level, automatically those will be passed on on top of the current price.
The majority or let's just say a large part of the price increase in the gas has been somewhat compensated. All in all, because we have seen increase in the raw material price, but in any case, it is the glass business in Europe that has been hit the most. As mentioned, in terms of the architectural glass, we have the energy surcharge. We have been able to offset somewhat. In terms of automotive glass and others, we have not been able to introduce such a scheme. In some ways, we have been directly hit. The impact is quite large. Also, in terms of chemicals and so forth, if naphtha price increase, that is definitely posing a negative impact.
The market continues to be tight, so we are able to offset somewhat with the pricing. Let's just say where we have been directly hit is in the glass business, specifically for the automotive glass. We would say that is where the impact has been the largest. In terms of the glass business inherently. In terms of crude oil, in terms of sensitivity, one barrel, about JPY 300 million of impact. That has been the sensitivity. In terms of the European gas price, for one euro increase, it's JPY 700 million of impact. That has been the impact so far. We've been able to offset somewhat with the energy surcharge, and we have some hedging scheme to some extent as well.
We are not directly hit that full amount in terms of profit.
Moving on to the next question. Was there an impact of hedging on crude oil and others in terms of the impact on the first quarter results? Kasuya would answer.
As for hedging, as Miyaji explained earlier, natural gas within the heavy oil, we do have the hedging operation, and in some regions, hedging operation is not easily done. It is not the overall impact, just a partial impact, but we did record a positive impact of hedge operation in the first quarter results. Thank you.
We'll move on to the next question. If Russia were to stop the supply of natural gas to Europe, what sort of impact would it pose to the glass business in Europe? CFO Miyaji would answer this question.
Natural gas situation in Europe has already been seen through the media, and I'm pretty sure many of you are familiar with the current situation. In terms of natural gas, for Russia, it is a very important source for revenue based on the foreign currency. On the other end, for Europe, it is indeed part of a very important infrastructure to support everyday lives. We believe the risk that the supply will be completely suspended, perhaps the risk would not be so high. Perhaps complete halting of the supply is not likely to happen. That is our current take. Of course, in those rare case that the natural gas were to be suspended completely, in that kind of scenario, so long as it is a short duration of time, we can accommodate through alternative measures.
Of course, if it is suspended for a long duration of time, then of course, some furnaces are fully dependent on the gas supply through the pipeline. About one-third of the furnace operation in Europe may be impacted if the gas supply is suspended for a long duration of time. Of course, in that case, depending on the demand, we may need to optimize the operation of the furnace in Europe as a whole. Of course, these are in those rare cases and under those contingencies, if it is completely stopped, then perhaps one third of the furnace in Europe may be impacted. That would be my answer.
Moving on to the next question. Since the Russian invasion in Ukraine, do you see the economy slowing down in Europe? On a related note, the demand in Europe regarding the glass business, what is your current view?
Miyaji will respond.
Currently, we don't see signs of economic slowdown. At least in our business, the Ukraine situation is not really impacting the business. For the glass business, going forward, nobody knows what's going to happen to this conflict itself. It's not likely that this is going to see an end in a near future. There are possibility of some favorable win for us. The energy issue, especially the gas supply situation in Europe, is attracting a lot of attention. People are feeling that they need to reduce the consumption of gas. That is widely spread recognition, which means that the heat insulation of the buildings are going to become more important. Renovation Wave has been undergoing in Europe, and we believe that innovation is going to be accelerated.
High function, high performance glass with the thermal insulation performance features will be appreciated. Over long term, that will be a good news for us.
Next question relates to the current state of business in Russia and the outlook going forward. Also, are there any changes related to the positioning within your business portfolio? If you can explain to us. Sorry, could you repeat that question again? The current state of business in Russia, the outlook and also changes, for instance, inclusive of withdrawal of the business, and the positioning within the business portfolio. Miyaji will explain.
Russia, we have architectural glass and automotive glass. Those are the two major businesses in Russia. Architectural glass is larger in terms of the business size in Russia. Automotive glass on the western side, the OEMs have suspended their production. Accordingly, needless to say, our business has basically disappeared.
In terms of the business towards OEMs in Western Europe or west in general, it has been suspended. It is under fairly low utilization. That's for automotive. In terms of architectural glass, as we speak, it hasn't really dropped out significantly. It is still under operation. The outlook going forward, that is a very challenging question to answer. Really depends on how the Russian situation may progress, and also we would need to monitor the international situation as well. We do perceive certain amount of risk in continuing the business in Russia. Accordingly, we would like to take measures appropriately.
Next question. The pricing policy on automotive glass, what is your assumption regarding the pricing changes, and are you already seeing the effects of such measures? Miyaji will respond.
Well, so far, there are some unique situation, unique practices in the automotive industry. Given that special relationship that we have with our customers in the automotive industry, we haven't been able to raise prices that much. The current situation is, as was explained earlier, in the first quarter, the baseline was in the red. Costs are rapidly increasing. The prices of fuel and raw materials are increasing, so we have no choice but to raise our price as well. We're talking about entirely different level from the previous time. I cannot say where and how much, but the pricing policy in the past, we are going to depart completely from the conventional approach. Well, partially. I mentioned in the presentation that, already starting September of last year, we have adjusted prices, especially in Europe, but that's not enough at all.
We are seeing some effects, but it's limited. We would like to pursue further impact, so we will be revisiting the prices strongly for the remainder of the year.
Next question. This relates to China. Could you please share with us the current state of the revenue, supply chain in China? Also, have you been impacted by the recent lockdown in China? Answer to that. China accounts for approximately 10% of the group-wide sales. Our core main business is display glass and also for automotive glass. Those are the major business in China. So far, we haven't seen any significant impact to the overall performance. Of course, we have seen lockdown in Shanghai and some of the factories nearby have been impacted. Definitely we have seen some confusion within the supply chain.
However, the impact was not so large, the business is trending as expected. For automotive glass, in comparison to the previous year, in fact, the sales have been on the increase. The lockdown in China, centered in Shanghai, right now it is not impacting the main business. Next question, electronics. The peak out of the semiconductor cycle, would that be a matter of concern for the business of AGC, is the question. No, we don't consider that to be a concern. Looking at our main business area, the products, many are the high-end products. For example, EUV mask blanks included, CMP and other semiconductor-related products that we supply are high-end products. We don't see signs of demand softening, so we're not concerned at all. Next relates to EUV mask blanks.
If you can tell us the growth year-over-year and also quarter-over-quarter. This is the growth for EUV mask blanks. We cannot disclose the details right now, but we have been saying 40% will be the growth of the sales, and that has been the case in the past. This year, that pace will not change. We are steadily growing in terms of the EUV mask blanks business. If you look at on a quarter-over-quarter basis, it really depends on the customers. It is not as if we are consistently growing by 40%. On an annualized basis, yes, we are steadily growing by 40% or so. We are not overly concerned about the business right now. Next question. Question on life science.
Could you kind of explain why life science margin is lower, and how is the current utilization rate of CDMO business?
Earlier, I did briefly touched on this subject. Year-on-year, during the first quarter of last year, the highly profitable product shipments were concentrated during that period. The first quarter of last year had a remarkable increase in profits on a yearly basis. That's one factor. There was a reaction to that very good first quarter of last year. Another factor is, especially in the U.S., we are increasing the capacity, which entails costs, but they are not operating yet, so we are only seeing the cost. Another factor is in the U.S., the periodic maintenance turnaround had been conducted, which also entailed increased costs.
Year-on-year, it appears as if the profits decreased slightly, but as I mentioned earlier, the business itself is back to the normal level, and we're not concerned at all. It's very strong. With regards to the utilization rate, we do not disclose that. In Colorado, there was major acquisition and capacity increase, and they are to come online. Also in Europe, we are expanding capacity there as well.
When facilities are launched, it takes some time before the utilization rate to go up. If you just focus on the existing facilities, utilization rate is high, but it will take some time before the new ones will catch up.
The capacity enhancement in Thailand for chloralkali, back in 2016 for ASC, the phase six capacity expansion, the same level of capacity enhancement. However, the investment amount is almost double. Why is that the case in comparison to ASC phase six capacity expansion? Answer to that, in Indonesia, phase six had been conducted. It was quite a significant level of capacity enhancement. I believe the question was addressed to the fact that our investment amount is far larger. Actually, it is not quite equivalent. Back then, the phase six, as opposed to the capacity enhancement of chloralkali, it is related to PVC. While phase six was 250,000 tonnage, but Vinythai, it's 400,000. A different size in terms of the capacity enhancement.
Caustic soda is also large as well. VCM is pretty much the same. In any case, PVC plants in general, in comparison to caustic soda, the investment amount is larger. That is definitely one of the reasons. Also, in comparison to before in 2016, the FX is different. Yen is weaker. That is another impact. Also, personnel cost has been on the rise. Also, the investment in Indonesia was related to this big company in Indonesia. We have been enhancing the funds. Again, as the number denotes, it is the sixth round of the investment. This time, this is Vinythai Company and AGC Chemicals Thailand. These two phases are under scope. Vinythai, we have acquired them back in 2017.
Even prior to that, prior to the acquisition, they have been very much focusing on the sales. However, also there has been interest in conducting more environmental measures, environmentally friendly measures, that is. That is why the reason for the investment this time around. The capacity of course will be enhanced, but there are some incremental cost entailed because of the measures related to environment. Also Vinythai, they had interest in conducting those measures. That is why the investment amount is large this time around.
Next question regarding the chloralkali market price. PVC and caustic soda market price going forward, what is your view, is the question. Again, I showed you a slide on that subject earlier. Is it on the screen? Yes. As you can see on the slide, and as I explained earlier, the peak for PVC and ethylene price spread-wise, it has peaked out. Caustic soda price remains high. The market situation, we expect this market price to moderate gradually going forward. We don't see any factors for major decline in the market price. Even if the price is to go down, we expect that to be on a moderate manner. There are environmental regulations in China as well as the impact of COVID-19. There are such uncertainties, so it's very difficult to predict. Our gut feeling is that we can rule out a big drop.
If it's gonna go down, it will be a moderate decline. I'm afraid that's all I can say for now.
If you can share with us the profit for Q2, the outlook for profit for Q2. If you can give us the breakdown, that would be helpful. Well, it's very difficult to comment on this because as you know, we haven't changed the full year forecast. Let me start off by saying on a full year basis, we did not actually conduct any revisiting. We didn't change our outlook. That is why we didn't change the guidance. Given the current trend, for the overall business, JPY 95 billion for the first half of the year, Q1, JPY 57.8 billion. It's about 60% progress rate so far. It is quite favorable after Q1.
Whether this would drop or not, we're not seeing or expecting any negative factors going forward. In any case, we didn't actually change the guidance. Now, the outlook for Q2 is if we continue as is, if you were to subtract that, JPY 37.2 billion will be the remainder. In comparison to Q1, there will be a Q-on-Q, it decreased by JPY 20 billion. That is probably not going to happen. That is why we didn't actually change our outlook. Now, in terms of the outlook by business and segments, we expect the same trend as Q1 to continue for the rest for Q2. For the chemicals, for instance, we expect to continue to see strong numbers. Also, for glass and electronics, we shall see the same trend continue.
Perhaps for glass, of course, we would hope that we make stronger performance for automotive glass. All in all, perhaps no major change.
Next. Do you have the target IRR for chloralkali investment? Are you expecting a return, that would exceed the lowering of the share price valuation?
Miyaji will respond.
Well, we have been commenting on this for quite some time. At AGC, we use ROCE and others to manage our overall operation. For chloralkali business, regarding ROCE, it's a very good business, very good growth rate. We do not disclose specific IRR targets, but by making investment in this particular business, the ROCE of AGC overall would improve. Of course, for chemicals and for AGC overall. As you can see here, ROCE for chemicals, 21.5% excess. For chloralkali, very high ROCE is being exhibited. Investment in that particular business will push up the ROCE overall. We're not concerned about the investment in chloralkali business.
That's related to Electronics segment. By product and the profitability, 11.3% was display. This quarter it's down to 3.6%. There's been a sudden decline. Why is that the case? Also, for the Electronics components, it has been increased from 15% to 21%. If you can give us the reasoning behind that. In terms of the actual profit amount year-on-year, not much difference, as you can tell. Of course the mix composition has changed. For Electronics components, electronic materials, we have semiconductors and optoelectronics were the main driver. Because of that, electronic materials have been quite strong. Now, for display glass substrates for display, this is a yen-denominated business. The production is conducted in Korea and China and Taiwan.
A weaker yen has posed a very negative impact on our performance. One of the reasons why we are making large investments in China is precisely this. Because we now have larger size substrates. Because of that, the transportation. Especially, for Gen 11 size of substrates, we have been actually making use of different furnace. That is why we have seen impact in the China business. For display, that is why we're seeing some of a weaker trend. Of course it is hard to tell what will become of the Forex. For Gen 11, depending on Gen 11 operation, we may deploy more highly productive furnace. That way entail lowering of the cost if we were to do so.
In fact, we wanted to make last year as the bottom. In fact, perhaps even this year, we will continue to be, it will continue to be challenging. We shall see some recovery after that.
Next is on LCD glass substrates. At NEG, the shipments increased by higher single digits% year-on-year. In AGC, display glass, 1.7% decline in sales quarter-on-quarter. What was the situation, and what is the outlook for the second quarter?
Regarding the price, I already commented on that. Although on a slight basis, the price did go up, partly in relation to the price mix, the product mix. As for volume, the shipments. We are not following the shipment volume. That is not our target, and that's why we see some slight decline in shipments volume. The difference in customer breakdown and the types of products that we supply. To accommodate that need, we had to reduce the volume to a certain extent, which had an impact. Quarter on quarter, we see a slight decline, but in the second quarter, the lower single-digit % growth is expected to be in line with our peers. That's our expectation.
This will be the last question. On a net profit basis, when was the record high in the past? Miyaji-san, please.
You're talking about the Q1, the net income?
If it's for Q1, do we have that number, a record high number in the past, the previous record high?
I think it was 2010 or 2011. Could have been the Q1 of 2011. This is net income, net profit. We don't have that number right now. This is Q1. If it's for the first quarter, I believe it was either 2010 or 2011. I'm not quite sure which. 2011 it is, Q1. That was the previous record high. How much was that? Do you know the number? JPY 38.4, I believe. Okay, great. Thank you.
It is time. With that, we would like to conclude the Q&A session. For the questions we couldn't address today, our divisions will respond to them afterwards.
Thank you very much for coming to this online briefing amidst your busy schedule. With that, we would like to conclude the financial results announcement meeting for Q1 for FY 2022. Once you close the Zoom screen, you will be directed to the questionnaire page. It would only take 5 minutes or so please fill those questionnaire in for further improvement in our IR activities. Also, if you have any follow-up questions, please contact this phone number. It is Tokyo 03-3218-5096. Tokyo 03-3218-5096. Thank you all for your time today.