We would like to start TDK Corporation's Third Quarter Financial Results briefing for the fiscal year ending in March 2026. Thank you for being here despite your busy schedules. Let me introduce the participants. Senior Executive Vice President, CFO, Yamanishi Tetsuji. Executive Vice President, Sato Shigeki. Corporate Officer, Sashida Fumio. Corporate Officer, Tsutsui Takao. That's all the participants from the company side. We will first cover financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2026, and the full year forecasts before moving on to Q&A. The entire session is about 60 minutes. The handout materials used during the briefing are available on the company's website, both in Japanese and English. Now, Mr. Yamanishi, the floor is yours.
This is Yamanishi speaking. Thank you very much for joining TDK's earnings call for the third quarter of fiscal year ending March 2026.
I will now begin with a summary of our consolidated results. First of all, these are key points for the nine-month period from April to December. In the electronics markets that drive our results, ICT-related production remained solid year-on-year, and nearline HDD demand for data centers stayed strong. In contrast, in the automotive market, battery EV demand remained weak, and automotive parts demand was below our initial assumptions. In this environment, solid component demand in the ICT and industrial equipment markets drove year-on-year revenue growth across all segments for the nine-month period. Overall, net sales rose 11.3%, and the operating profit increased 10.4%, both reaching record highs for the nine-month period.
Next, I will provide more details on the nine-month results, including FX impacts, approximately a JPY 29.4 billion tailwind to net sales and a JPY 9.3 billion headwind to operating profit. Net sales were JPY 1,858.6 billion, up JPY 188 billion, or 11.3%, and operating profit was JPY 230.7 billion, up JPY 21.6 billion, or 10.4% year-on-year. Profit before tax was JPY 235.1 billion, up JPY 17 billion, or 7.8%. Profit attributable to owners of parent was JPY 181.2 billion, up JPY 20.3 billion, or 12.6%.
As a result, we achieved record high net sales and profit at every level for the nine-month period ended Q3. EPS was 95.48 yen. FX sensitivity is JPY 2 billion on annual OP, for a one yen move against the U.S. dollar and JPY 0.3 billion against the euro. Next is performance by segment for the nine months ended December. In Passive C omponents, net sales rose 3.2% to JPY 438.2 billion, as higher sales to industrial equipment market more than offset the lower sales to the automotive market. Operating profit fell 25.6% to JPY 30.4 billion. Ceramic capacitors achieved higher sales on increased sales to automotive and industrial equipment, while the profit declined due to lower average selling prices.
Aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors posted higher sales, although sales to the automotive market decreased. Sales to industrial equipment increased, especially for renewable energy and AI servers. Profit increased on a net basis, excluding JPY 2.7 billion restructuring costs recorded in Q2 as part of our portfolio management initiative. Inductive devices saw higher sales on increased sales to ICT and automotive, but profit fell slightly due to an unfavorable product mix. High-frequency components declined in both sales and profit, reflecting weaker sales to industrial equipment and ICT. Piezoelectric materials and circuit protection components increased net sales on stronger sales to industrial equipment, but profit declined due to the stronger yen. In sensor application products, net sales increased 17.3% to JPY 167.7 billion, and operating profit was JPY 19.2 billion, up about 3.5 times year-on-year.
Temperature and pressure sensors posted higher sales on stronger sales to automotive, but profit declined due to deterioration of product mix. Magnetic sensors achieved higher sales and profit, driven by increased TMR sensor sales to the smartphone market. In MEMS sensors, microphone sales to ICT market increased, and motion sensor sales for industrial equipment also grew. As a result, MEMS sensors posted higher net sales year-on-year and returned to profitability, greatly contributing to the sensor segment's expanded earnings. In magnetic application products, net sales increased 13% to JPY 186.8 billion, and operating profit rose to JPY 19.4 billion, up nearly five-fold year-on-year. For HDD heads and suspension assemblies, nearline HDD-related sales volume increased by 15% for heads and over 30% for suspensions, driving a significant growth in both sales and profit.
Magnets declined in sales, but cost improvements, including quality-related enhancements, helped improving profitability, although the business remained at a loss. Next, in energy application products, net sales increased 14.4% to JPY 1,025.2 billion, and operating profit rose 4.3% to JPY 205.1 billion. Rechargeable batteries delivered higher net sales and profit overall, with small capacity products for smartphones achieving higher unit sales, partly helped by a new model introduction and medium products achieving stronger sales to the industry equipment market. Power supplies for industry equipment declined in sales as demand has not recovered meaningfully, but profit increased due to improved product mix. Let me move on to Q3 quarterly performance.
Including FX impacts of plus JPY 12.3 billion in net sales and JPY -0.1 billion in operating profit, net sales were JPY 675.2 billion, up JPY 94.2 billion, or 16.2% year-on-year, and operating profit was JPY 83.1 billion, up JPY 7.3 billion, or 9.7% year-on-year. Profit before tax was JPY 87.6 billion, up JPY 6.8 billion, or 8.4%. Profit attributable to owners of parent was JPY 69.8 billion, up JPY 14.6 billion, or 26.5% year-on-year, and EPS was JPY 36.77 . Next, I will explain about the factors contributing to the increase and decrease in segment sales and operating profit from the second quarter to the third quarter.
The Passive C omponents segment saw net sales increase by JPY 5 billion or 3.4% from the second quarter, and operating profit increased by JPY 4.5 billion, excluding one-time expenses of JPY 2.7 billion. Ceramic capacitors saw increased sales and profits due to the higher sales to the automotive market. Aluminum electrolytic film capacitors remained largely flat in both sales and profits, excluding the JPY 2.7 billion restructuring cost recorded in the second quarter. Inductive devices saw increased sales due to higher automotive market demand, but profit remained at the same level as the second quarter due to factors such as deterioration in the product mix. High-frequency components experienced a decline in sales due to reduced automotive market demand, but profit increased due to improvements in the product mix.
Piezoelectric and circuit protection components saw increased sales and profit due to higher demand in the industrial equipment market. Sensor application products saw a JPY 1.7 billion or 2.7% decrease in net sales compared to the second quarter, with operating profit decreasing by JPY 2.2 billion. Temperature and pressure sensors experienced decreased sales and profits due to lower automotive market sales.
... Magnetic sensors saw a slight decrease in overall sales and profits, partly due to seasonal declines in demand for TMR sensors in the ICT market. MEMS sensors saw reduced sales and profits overall, as microphone sales to the ICT market declined due to seasonal demand reduction, and motion sensor sales to the industrial equipment market decreased. However, the business overall remained profitable. The Magnetic Application Products segment saw net sales increase by JPY 9.9 billion, 16.1% from the second quarter, and operating profit increased by JPY 1.9 billion, 34%. HDD heads saw sales volume remain largely flat, but as the mix of new products improved and led to a higher average selling prices, sales increased.
HDD suspension saw sales volume increase by approximately 23% due to rising demand for nearline HDDs, leading to increased sales and profit for both HDD heads and suspension assembly. Magnets also saw increased sales and reduction in losses as efforts to pass on higher material costs to selling prices progressed. Lastly, the Energy Application Products segment saw net sales increase by JPY 14.5 billion, or 4% from the second quarter, while operating profit decreased by JPY 14.9 billion, 18.1%. Sales of small capacity batteries for the ICT market declined seasonally in volume, but increased sales of small capacity battery packages led to higher overall sales for rechargeable batteries. Operating profit decreased due to the lingering impact of significant material price increases. Sales of power supplies for industrial equipment remained largely flat.
Sales of EV power supplies decreased due to reduced battery EV demand, but the deficit narrowed. Next is the analysis of the JPY 21.6 billion increase in nine-month operating profit up to the fourth, third quarter. Sales volume growth for rechargeable batteries, HDD heads and suspensions, and sensors contributed to a JPY 88.5 billion profit increase. This was offset by a JPY 41.7 billion decrease due to the impact of selling price fluctuations, despite a JPY 11.2 billion profit increase from rationalization and cost reductions, and a JPY 4.9 billion profit increase from benefits of restructuring implemented in the previous period. SG&A expenses increased by JPY 29.8 billion, mainly due to higher R&D expenses, particularly for rechargeable batteries, where development of new technologies and products is accelerating.
Although there was a JPY 2.2 billion decrease due to the absence of one-time gains recorded in the previous year and a JPY 9.3 billion decrease due to the impact of stronger yen, the overall increase in sales volume resulted in a net increase of JPY 21.6 billion. Next, I will explain about the cash flow situation. With the first nine months of this fiscal year, operating cash flow was JPY 353.2 billion. Investment cash flow increased by JPY 92.8 billion year-on-year, primarily due to increased CapEx focused on rechargeable batteries, including new products and new technologies. Free cash flow was JPY 104.9 billion, a decrease of JPY 108.6 billion year-on-year, but it remains above the projected level for the current period.
Next, I will explain about the full year forecast for the fiscal 2026 period. This is an overview of segment, segment-specific sales fluctuations for the fourth quarter. The average exchange rate for the fourth quarter has been revised from the previously assumed 145 JPY to JPY 153 per dollar. For easier comparison, we will explain the changes excluding exchange rate impacts. First, for the Passive Components, we expect the inductive devices to increase for the automotive market and aluminum electrolytic capacitors to increase for AI servers. Overall, we anticipate flat to a 3% increase. Sensor application products, we expect sales of magnetic sensors and MEMS sensors for smartphones to decrease seasonally. Overall, we anticipate a decrease of 8% to 5%.
Going to magnetic application products, HDD heads are expected to see an approximately 8% increase in sales volume for nearline HDD applications. Suspension sales are projected to decrease by about 6% due to some orders being brought forward to the third quarter. Overall, we anticipate a +7% to +10% increase.... For energy application products, we expect sales of small capacity batteries to decline due to seasonality in the smartphone market, resulting in an overall decrease of -18% to -15%. Lastly, I will explain the consolidated earnings outlook for the fiscal 2026 period ending in March. As explained earlier, in the electronics market during the nine-month period up to the third quarter, sales of rechargeable batteries and sensors expanded, driven by factors such as the launch of new smartphone models.
Furthermore, demand for HDDs for data centers remained robust, and sales of HDD suspensions performed well. Under these circumstances, third quarter results exceeded the assumptions made at the time of the October 31, 2025 announcement, partly due to the weaker yen. Based on these factors, we have revised our full year earnings forecast upward from the previous announcement. We now project net sales of JPY 2.47 trillion, operating profit of JPY 265 billion, and net income attributable to owners of parent of JPY 190 billion. The fourth quarter exchange rate assumption is 153 yen to the dollar. Free cash flow is also expected to increase by JPY 35 billion from the previous forecast to JPY 115 billion, partly due to the contribution from increased profits.
As part of promoting business portfolio management, we expect to incur approximately JPY 3 billion in additional one-time expenses, including restructuring costs in the fourth quarter compared to the previous forecast, bringing the total for the full year to approximately JPY 13 billion in operating expenses. Regarding the dividend per share outlook, based on the upward revision of the profit, the year-end dividend forecast is revised upward by JPY 2 per share from JPY 16 to JPY 18. Consequently, the annual dividend forecast is revised from JPY 32 to JPY 34 per share. We have revised our full year earnings forecast upward. At the same time, we have reviewed various expenses. CapEx is planned to increase by JPY 20 billion from the previous annual forecast of JPY 280 billion to JPY 300 billion.
Depreciation and amortization expenses are planned to increase by JPY 5 billion to JPY 205 billion, and R&D expenses are planned to increase by JPY 20 billion to JPY 280 billion. This increase is primarily driven by planned new product launches, mainly in rechargeable batteries and accelerated development of new technologies. We are preparing for further growth to achieve the targets for the final year of the next medium-term plan. This concludes my presentation. Thank you for your attention.