Good afternoon. Thank you for joining the NSK Limited Investor Relations financial conference for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2026. Before we explain the financial results, I will briefly touch on the steering business disclosure included in this presentation. The steering business, which became an equity method affiliate in August 2023, is now once again a wholly owned consolidated subsidiary of NSK, effective from September 1st, 2025. As a result, from this reporting period, the steering business has been disclosed as an independent segment consolidated under NSK. This applies to the content of today's presentation. Additionally, for the fiscal years ending March 2025 and March 2026, the equity method investment gains and losses from the steering business, which were previously included in the automotive business through August 2025, have been reclassified from the automotive business to the steering business.
While this disclosure aligns with the International Financial Reporting Standards, we wanted to provide this explanation in advance due to the slightly complex nature of this matter. Next, I will report on the results for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 2026, present the full-year forecast, and explain our midterm plan initiatives. Please turn to page four. Here we outline the key points for the first half results for the fiscal year ending March 2026. As mentioned at the outset, the consolidation of the steering business was completed on September 1st. Reflecting this, sales reached JPY 412.3 billion, and operating income reached JPY 16.5 billion. Year-on-year, this represents an increase of JPY 14.6 billion in sales and JPY 6.8 billion in profits.
Note that the sales and profit growth includes JPY 15.2 billion in sales and JPY 3.8 billion in profits from the steering business compared to the previous year. Regarding the fiscal 2025 full-year forecast, we are revising it to reflect the consolidation of the steering business and the current demand environment. Sales are projected at JPY 885 billion, with operating income at JPY 30 billion. This upward revision, compared to the May forecast, represents an increase of JPY 120 billion in sales and JPY 8 billion in profits. This revision also incorporates the impact of the steering business, which contributes JPY 90 billion to the increase in sales and JPY 3.5 billion to the increase in profits. The interim dividend of JPY 17 per share and annual dividend total of JPY 34 per share remain unchanged and will be maintained based on our dividend on equity policy of 2.5%.
Next, on page five, while overlapping with figures introduced on the previous page, the JPY 412.3 billion in sales includes the previously mentioned JPY 15.2 billion impact from the steering business and an JPY 8.9 billion foreign exchange impact. This means, even excluding the impact of the steering business, sales are up year-on-year. Furthermore, each profit item also shows an increase year-on-year. Compared to the first half forecast as of May, excluding the steering impact, progress exceeds our initial projections. We will explain this in detail later on the V chart slide. Moving to page six, here we provide a breakdown of the figures by business segment for your reference. Next, on page seven, the V chart explains the factors behind change in operating income. For the first half of fiscal 2024, operating income was JPY 9.7 billion.
Adjusting for currency effects and a slight volume increase, this resulted in a JPY 1.0 billion gain. Regarding our fundamentals, we offset inflation and an increased cost through fundamental improvements and structural reforms, resulting in a JPY 2 billion increase. Furthermore, in the first half, there was a difference in one-time expenses incurred. Excluding steering, this resulted in a JPY 3 billion increase from last year's JPY 9.7 billion to reach JPY 12.7 billion. On top of that, the year-on-year difference in the steering business of JPY 3.8 billion was added, resulting in the figure of JPY 16.5 billion. This is the outcome for this period. Next, I'd like to touch on the breakdown by business segment. Page eight covers the industrial machinery business. Looking at the first half results, excluding currency effects, sales increased by 2.7%.
This includes some price increases and reflects a recovery in line with expectations, although the pace remains gradual. Within this, industrial machinery bearings saw growth due to increased machine tool demand in China, while precision machinery products benefited from spot orders for semiconductor equipment in the Americas. Regarding one-time expenses for the first half, as noted here, we recorded JPY 0.3 billion in the first quarter and JPY 0.3 billion in the second quarter. While operating income improved from 1.8% in the first quarter to 3.6% in the second quarter, we are still on the path to reach our target profit levels and will continue to pursue improvement in the second half. Looking at the first half numbers, the industrial machinery segment recorded JPY 180.8 billion in sales and JPY 4.9 billion in operating income, or JPY 5.5 billion excluding one-time expenses.
Next, on page nine, we have the automotive business. For the first half, sales were JPY 201.2 billion, and operating income was JPY 8.9 billion, or 4.4%. Operating income improved slightly from 3.4% in the first quarter to 5.4% in the second quarter, achieving growth through volume effects and structural improvements despite the impact of exchange rates and increased tariff costs. One-time expenses were JPY 0.1 billion in the first quarter and zero in the second quarter. In that sense, the JPY 8.9 billion in operating income is the same as the figure excluding one-time expenses. Page 10 shows the regional breakdown for the first half of fiscal 2023, 2024, and 2025. In Europe, sales in industrial machinery and automotive declined, unfortunately, due to factors such as withdrawing unprofitable products as part of structural reforms.
year-on-year, China saw increased sales in the first half due to economic stimulus measures, but from the second half of last year, sales growth has leveled off somewhat. Regarding the Americas, we believe that the current robust demand will remain. Japan continues to see flat sales for both industrial machinery and automotive. Next, I would like to present the full-year forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026. On page 12, regarding the full-year forecast for fiscal 2025, I would like to briefly explain our assessment of the business environment. At the beginning of May, considering the uncertainty surrounding tariffs and other factors ahead, we anticipated that volume recovery would remain flat. As we enter the second half, this underlying trend appears largely unchanged. However, we now anticipate a gradual recovery in industrial machinery during the second half.
Regarding automotive production volume, we will maintain the assumption of flat production in both first and second halves. For the exchange rate, we have revised our assumption slightly toward a weaker Yen, reflecting the recent trend of Yen depreciation. Furthermore, while there have been various developments regarding U.S. tariff policies, we believe that the situation has largely settled and the details are now clearer. Ultimately, compared to the JPY 9 billion impact forecast in the first quarter, we have revised our full-year forecast to JPY 11 billion, incorporating the impact of steering + 50% of the impact from the steel and aluminum tariffs. However, our fundamental policy remains unchanged to mitigate 100% of increasing costs through transferring increasing costs to sales prices, while also pursuing supply chain improvement.
Regarding structural reforms, we feel positive momentum in the first half as progress is largely on schedule, and we expect to maintain this stance in the second half. In conclusion, as outlined in the three lines above, sales outlook is flat year-on-year, albeit with a slight increase. U.S. tariffs will be passed on to sales prices, and structural reforms will proceed as planned. Furthermore, while various risks concerning rare earth metals and semiconductors have recently surfaced, we have chosen not to incorporate them into this forecast due to significant uncertainty surrounding these matters. Page 13 shows the revised full-year forecast figures. These reflect consolidation of the steering business as a subsidiary. Additionally, the exchange rate assumptions for the second half are now JPY 140 to the dollar, JPY 160 to the Euro, and JPY 20 to the Chinese Yuan. Regarding the U.S.
Tariffs mentioned earlier, while we believe negotiations are progressing smoothly toward a full resolution, the reality is that negotiations and recovery of costs are inevitably occurring with a one-month delay. Therefore, we have incorporated this one-month gap into our current forecast. To reiterate what was stated earlier, risks related to rare earth metals and semiconductor shortages are not factored into our projections. We project sales of JPY 885 billion, operating income of JPY 30 billion, and an operating income margin of 3.4%. Excluding one-time expenses, we expect operating income to recover to JPY 37.6 billion, or 4.5%. Net profit is forecast at JPY 16 billion. Compared to the May forecast, this represents an increase of JPY 125 billion in sales and JPY 8 billion in profits. Compared to the previous year, sales increased by JPY 88.3 billion.
While there was a foreign exchange impact, operating income increased by JPY 1.5 billion. Although no comment is provided here, as mentioned at the beginning, we will maintain our policy of paying an interim dividend of JPY 17 per share and an annual dividend of JPY 34. Page 14 provides the full-year forecast figures broken down by segment for your reference. Next, on page 15, we have the revised full-year forecast figures in detail for the industrial machinery and automotive businesses. For the industrial machinery business, the revised forecast is JPY 367 billion in sales and JPY 13 billion in operating income. Due to exchange rates and somewhat sluggish consumer spending in Europe and the Americas, we currently anticipate operating income will be slightly down below the previous year's level.
Comparing the first half and second half of fiscal 2025, sales were projected to show a slight gradual recovery from the first half to the second half. Operating income is expected to improve by approximately JPY 8.1 billion, representing an increase of over 4%. For the automotive business, we anticipate full-year sales of JPY 399 billion and operating income of JPY 15.5 billion. This represents an increase of JPY 19 billion in sales and JPY 5.5 billion in profits compared to the previous forecast. Regarding the forecast for the first and second halves, unit sales are expected to remain flat due to seasonal factors, resulting in a slight decrease in sales. Operating income is projected at JPY 6.6 billion, appearing lower than the first half's JPY 8.9 billion. However, this figure includes approximately JPY 3.5 billion in restructuring costs for the second half.
Excluding this, while sales are slightly lower, profitability continues to show an improving trend. Next, on page 16, the V chart shows factors behind change from the fiscal 2024 full-year results to the revised fiscal 2025 forecast. The full-year results for fiscal 2024 was JPY 28.5 billion. Our original May forecast was JPY 22 billion, based on the expectation that we would largely offset the impact of exchange rates through operational improvements. Regarding this revision, we see that the operational improvements, specifically the effects of structural reforms, have allowed us to achieve approximately JPY 6.2 billion in cost savings over inflation-related expenses, largely in line with our initial plan. Looking at midterm outlook, we have planned to accumulate JPY 15 billion in operational improvements over fiscal 2024, 2025, and 2026.
With JPY 4 billion achieved in fiscal 2024 and approximately JPY 6 billion this fiscal year, we consider progress to be on track in the three-year plan. From that JPY 22 billion figure, as mentioned earlier, we have adjusted for timing differences related to U.S. tariffs: JPY 1 billion foreign exchange impacts, JPY 4.5 billion, and the consolidation of steering as a subsidiary, JPY 3.5 billion. Looking at the full year, there is a slight volume increase in industrial machinery and automotive combined, contributing an additional JPY 1 billion. Summing up all these adjustments, we have revised our forecast up by JPY 8 billion, resulting in operating income of JPY 30 billion. Next, I'll briefly touch on our midterm plan initiatives for fiscal 2025. On page 18, we have included one slide on the progress of structural reforms.
In fiscal 2024, we incurred one-time expenses of JPY 4.6 billion and realized effects of JPY 1.1 billion. For the current fiscal year, we anticipate realizing JPY 5.5 billion in structural reform effects as part of the aforementioned fundamental improvements, representing a JPY 4.4 billion year-on-year improvement. This includes optimizing and reducing production capacity in Europe, along with reviewing production bases and sales structures. In Japan and the Americas, we are continuing production restructuring due to the declining volumes for bearings used in water pumps for engine vehicles and bearings for engine auxiliary equipment. Additionally, in the Americas, we have decided to close one of our steel ball factories, part of our steel ball business. In China, we are reviewing our production mix and implementing measures such as transferring surplus equipment to India.
Regarding the amount, as shown on the right, we reduced personnel by 600 in fiscal 2024, and we have plans to further reduce 400 additional personnel in fiscal 2025, with 250 completed so far, and we are on track in this area. Page 19 summarizes the challenges for the latter half of our initiatives. We will advance the structural reforms centered on Europe, just as described, and implement and execute the realization of their effects. We will also proceed with swift responses to U.S. tariff policies. Furthermore, regarding portfolio transformation through sales expansion, in industrial machinery bearings, we will advance initiatives to expand the aftermarket precision products and CMS businesses. In the automotive sector, we will expand sales to non-Japanese customers, including products for electric vehicles and new products.
However, while we are seeing some increase in sales and profits, we are still far from achieving the 8% profit target set in our midterm plan. We believe it is necessary to accumulate measures for sales expansion driven by our own efforts, independent of volume and market conditions, and for profit improvement. As mentioned previously, we are currently formulating a new midterm management plan to improve profitability, incorporating these measures. We are working diligently to advance this plan, aiming to present it next spring, one year ahead of schedule. On page 20, we have added supplementary explanations regarding the consolidation of the steering business subsidiary. As indicated in the box on the bottom right, we have incorporated the first half results of JPY 15.2 billion in sales and JPY 3 billion in operating income into our first half figures.
Regarding the temporary gains and losses, as shown below, the net total is JPY 1.4 billion. For the second half forecast, we expect JPY 74.8 billion in sales and JPY 0.5 billion in operating income. While profits from the first half to the second half appear somewhat weaker, this is due to the impact of volume and the timing of technical expenses. For the full year overall, sales are projected at JPY 90 billion, with operating income at JPY 3.5 billion. As mentioned earlier, this includes one-time expenses of JPY 1.4 billion. To put it simply, if we look at this on a full-year basis, the image is approximately JPY 150 billion in sales, with around JPY 2 billion in operating income, which is the level we are securing as a business.
Furthermore, looking ahead to the next three years, fiscal 2026, fiscal 2027, and fiscal 2028, we are currently securing new project orders. Based on our current outlook, we anticipate sales exceeding JPY 180 billion. For operating income, we believe we can target a margin of 3%-4% through increased volume effects. We are also working on formulating a midterm management plan. Page 21 introduces the strategic investment and business partnership agreement we announced last month with RT Corporation. We see robotics, the robot market, and automation as a key pillar for our next phase of growth. By actively partnering and collaborating with RT Corporation, which possesses strengths in system design incorporating AI and robotics, areas we currently lack, we believe we can transform our parts business and our business model.
While conceptual, as shown here, we have now assembled the new robot-related products and core component technologies developed during this midterm period. By comprehensively integrating these, we believe we have reached the stage where we can finally execute our full-scale strategy targeting the robot market. Page 22 highlights the ball screws for electric brakes, a key new product in the current midterm plan. We now have a firm outlook for securing orders for 10 million units in the next midterm period. We are confident these will also serve as a seed for transforming our automotive business portfolio heading into the next midterm. Regarding the equipment transfer from China to India mentioned earlier, the new plant building in India is a necessity. We are currently working towards completing the new building by August 2026.
Furthermore, in our PLM business, we have secured prospects for actual use by various customers in the latter half of this period. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose specific customer names at this time, but we feel tangible results are emerging one by one in this area as well. Page 23 shows some of our promotional activities. We are exhibiting our products at the currently ongoing Japan Mobility Show and International Robot Exhibition. If you have time, I would appreciate it if you could experience our products firsthand. This concludes our presentation. Thank you.