Good morning, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to join or watch online our financial results briefing. For the fiscal 2024 second quarter results, on one hand, factors such as cement price hikes made until last year having full effect, and lower coal prices improved profitability substantially. However, there was also a decrease in domestic demand for cement, a sharp depreciation of the yen, and an increase in various costs such as depreciation due to strong capital investment, including for carbon neutrality, as well as lower profits for the advanced materials business. As a result, operating income was JPY 2.3 billion, lower than the initial forecast of JPY 3.6 billion, and so the improvement from last year was modest. For the full year, we expect domestic sales and demand for cement to remain weak, and various cost increases are also expected to continue.
But due to the decline in coal prices and effects of recycling and carbon neutrality investments materializing, we expect to see an improvement in the cement business's performance. In terms of shareholder returns, based on the policy we presented in our medium-term management plan of payout ratio of 50% or more over the three-year period, we purchased JPY 5 billion worth of treasury stock this fiscal year. As for dividends, with a view to maintaining stable dividends, we plan to continue the annual dividend of JPY 120 per share. Under the medium to long-term vision, SOC Vision 2035 announced last year, our company-wide strategies in our medium-term management plan are improving profitability of existing businesses and building foundations for growth.
Having passed the halfway point of the plan, although we are behind the plan in the cement business and advanced materials business, we will make up for the delay by steadily implementing new price increases for cement sales from April 2025, and we hope to achieve our target of JPY 21.4 billion in company-wide operating income in fiscal 2025. We, the executives and employees, will continue to work hard as one team, so we ask for your continued support. Next, Nagai will explain the financial results. Now I will explain the financial results explanatory material. First, let's look at domestic cement demand and our cement sales. Domestic demand for cement in the first half of fiscal 2024 was 16.34 million tons, 6% lower year on year due to a shortage of manpower in the construction and logistics industries and the impact of regulations on overtime work.
We expect demand to be at 33 million tons for the full year of fiscal 2024. In the first half of fiscal 2024, our domestic sales volume was 3.566 million tons, 9% down year on year. For the full year of fiscal 2024, we expect sales to be 7.266 million tons. Next, I will give an overview of the fiscal 2024 second quarter and interim financial results. In the interim period of fiscal 2024, sales were JPY 108.6 billion, down JPY 1.2 billion year on year due mainly to lower sales of the cement and advanced materials businesses. For operating income, price hikes and lower coal prices in the cement business helped, but due to lower sales volume, the impact of exchange rates, and other cost increases, it came in at JPY 2.28 billion, with improvement limited to JPY 440 million.
In addition, non-operating income and loss, deteriorated due to foreign exchange losses and extraordinary income and loss, was affected by the absence of gains on the sale of cross-holding shares recorded in the previous period, so net income for the interim period was JPY 940 million, a decrease of JPY 4,940 million year on year. In the fiscal 2024 interim period, operating income from cement businesses improved by JPY 4.2 billion from sales prices and JPY 3.6 billion from coal and oil prices, but was down JPY 1.4 billion from lower sales and production volumes, one billion from the weaker yen and in others, in addition to higher manufacturing fixed costs and transportation costs already expected at the beginning of the year. Lower sales and production volumes also meant that the impact of the coal inventory from the previous year lasted longer than expected.
With these higher costs, operating income improved by JPY 1.3 billion year on year, but was still negative JPY 1.7 billion. In businesses other than cement, sales of mineral resources increased due to factors such as higher overseas sales volume of limestone, but that was offset by higher mining costs, and operating income was unchanged from the previous year. In cement-related products, sales and profits grew due to increasing ground improvement work and higher sales of repairing and reinforcing products for concrete structures. Our optoelectronics business is recording operating losses due mainly to higher production costs for LN modulators. The advanced materials business saw sales and profits decline due to factors such as lower sales of electrostatic chucks or ESC, which are semiconductor manufacturing equipment components. Here is our fiscal 2024 full year earnings forecast.
Sales for cement and advanced materials business are expected to decline, but it will increase for the mineral resources and cement-related product businesses, so sales are expected to increase by JPY 1.3 billion year on year to JPY 223.8 billion. Despite the positive impact of price increases and lower coal prices in the cement business, due mainly to the impact of increased costs year on year, improvement in operating income is expected to be limited to JPY 1.15 billion to end at JPY 8.4 billion. While operating income is expected to improve, non-operating income and loss are expected to deteriorate due to foreign exchange losses, so ordinary income is expected to remain largely unchanged year on year.
Extraordinary income and loss. Although we will continue to sell cross-holding shares this year, the gains on these sales are expected to fall compared to the previous year, and we are forecasting a net profit of 7.8 billion JPY, a decrease of 7.54 billion JPY year on year. With regard to operating income of the cement business in fiscal 2024, we expect a similar trend from the interim period, 4.3 billion JPY higher from sales prices and 4.7 billion JPY from coal and oil prices, but expecting 1.8 billion JPY lower due to falling sales and production volume, and in others, in addition to higher manufacturing fixed costs and transportation costs already expected at the beginning of the year, lower sales and production volumes are also meant to be that the impact of the coal inventory from the previous year lasted longer than expected.
With these higher costs, operating income will improve by JPY 2.1 billion from last year's negative JPY 1.4 billion, but the amount will still only be JPY 700 million. With regard to the full year earnings forecast for fiscal 2024, we have revised our initial forecast announced in May for sales, operating income, ordinary income, and net income. Net sales have been revised down by JPY 5.8 billion to JPY 223.8 billion, due mainly to the lower domestic sales volume outlook in the cement business. Operating income has also been revised down by JPY 2.7 billion to JPY 8.4 billion, due mainly to the impact of the lower sales volume in the cement business. Net income has been revised down by JPY 2.5 billion to JPY 7.8 billion, due mainly to the impact of the operating income.
The impact of the sale of cross-holding shares has been calculated in line with the initial forecast. The forecast for fiscal 2024 cement business operating income has deteriorated by JPY 2.8 billion from the initial forecast of JPY 3.5 billion to only JPY 0.7 billion. This is largely due to the impact of the lower sales and production volumes, and we expect a decrease of JPY 2.1 billion compared to the initial forecast. Also, others have worsened by JPY 1.3 billion from the initial forecast. Lower sales and production volumes mean protracted impact of last term's coal inventories, leading to higher costs, and as a result, the amount of revision has become greater. Of the JPY 1.3 billion deterioration, the impact of the previous year's coal inventory was JPY 5 billion, and the impact of plant equipment trouble was JPY 800 million. That concludes my explanation.