We will now start the TDK Corporation full year performance briefings for the fiscal year March 2026. Thank you very much for taking the time to join our briefing today. First, let me introduce the attendees. President and CEO Saito Noboru. Senior Executive Vice President and CFO Tetsuji Yamanishi. Executive Vice President Sato Shigeki. Corporate Officer Sashida Fumio. Corporate Officer Tsutsui Takao.
That is all for the attendees. Today, after presenting the full year results and projections for the fiscal year March 2027, and also our midterm planned progress, we will have a Q&A session. The entire session is scheduled for about 90 minutes. Today's materials are available in both English and Japanese on our website, so please refer to them as well. The floor is yours, sir.
Hello, I am Saito. Thank you very much for joining us today. At the outset, let me summarize what we want to communicate today. For the fiscal year March 2026, we achieved increased sales and profit, breaking past records. Free cash flow exceeded our assumptions, and we revised shareholder returns upward from the initial plan and raised dividends.
For the fiscal year March 2027, although there are headwinds such as tensions in the Middle East and lower ICT device production, such as smartphones due to soaring memory prices, we will continue to reinforce management conscious of controlling the controllable. That is, improving our capabilities.
While the midterm plan targets are generally expected to be achieved, we will further enhance business portfolio management. Today, I will elaborate on the investment in the AI ecosystem, a major potential for us in the mid to long term, highlighting progress on our growth strategy on AI data center-related products.
In addition, we are intensifying our engagement with investors and analysts. At the Investor Day scheduled for September 1, we plan to talk about our software technology as a newly added core and the human capital. These are the key points for today. Now, let me pass the floor to Mr. Yamanishi.
I am Yamanishi. I will present the highlights of the consolidated results. First, the highlights of the full year results for the fiscal March 2026. In the electronics market, which affects our performance, ICT related production remained solid year-on-year, and demand for Nearline HDDs for data centers also stayed strong. In the industrial equipment market, demand for renewable energy remained firm. On the other hand, in the automotive market, battery EV demand continued to be weak, resulting in a component demand below initial expectations.
Under this environment, component demand in ICT and industrial equipment market remained solid, posting year-over-year revenue growth in all segments. In total, sales were up 13.6% and a profit increase 21.5%, breaking past records for both net sales and operating profit.
Next, I will provide the full year P&L overview, including the FX impact, headwind to net sales of about JPY 2.5 billion and operating profit of about JPY 10.5 billion. Net sales were JPY 2,504.8 billion, up JPY 300 billion or 13.6% year-over-year. Operating profit was JPY 272.4 billion, up JPY 48.2 billion or 21.5%. Profit before tax was JPY 276.8 billion, up JPY 39 billion or 16.4%.
The net profit was JPY 195.7 billion, up JPY 28.5 billion or 17.1%, marking record highs in net sales and all profit items. EPS was JPY 103.09. The FX sensitivity for operating profit is estimated to be about JPY 2 billion for a JPY 1 move to the dollar for a year, same as before, and about JPY 300 million to the euro. Next, the performance by segment for the full year.
First, Passive Components sales for the industrial equipment and automotive markets increased, posting net sales of JPY 593.2 billion, up 6% year-on-year, and operating profit JPY 41.8 billion, up 22.8% year-on-year. For ceramic capacitors, sales for the automotive market and industrial equipment increased, leading to higher sales but lower profit due to lower average selling prices.
Aluminum electrolytic and film capacitor sales for the industrial equipment market, such as renewable energy and AI servers, increased and net sales increased. While structural reform expenses of JPY 2.8 billion were recorded mainly in the first half for the portfolio management, profit increased. For inductive devices, sales for the automotive and industrial equipment markets increased and posted higher sales, but profits slightly decreased due to mix deterioration.
High-frequency components, sales for the ICT and industrial equipment markets decreased, but profitability improved. Piezoelectric material products and circuit protection component sales increased for the industrial equipment, and net sales and profit increased. Next, the Sensor Application Products segment. Net sales were JPY 224.6 billion, up 18.6% year-on-year, and operating profit JPY 20.7 billion, a four-fold growth.
Temperature and pressure sensor sales increased for the automotive market and net sales increased, but profit decreased due to weaker mix and other factors. Magnetic sensors. Sales of TMR sensors for smartphones increased, and the sales for automotive also increased, posting higher sales and profit for magnetic sensors as a whole.
MEMS sensors. On top of microphone sales growth for the ICT, sales of motion sensors for industrial equipment increased and MEMS sensor sales increased as a whole, turning from the previous year's loss to profit, contributing meaningfully to overall sensor earnings. Next, Magnetic Application Products. Net sales were JPY 262.9 billion, up 17.6% year-on-year, and operating profit JPY 27 billion, a significant increase of about 8x . HDD heads and suspension assemblies.
Sales volume for Nearline HDDs increased about 14% for heads and about 35% for suspensions, recording a significant increase in sales and profit. Magnet sales increased for the automotive market, resulting in net sales growth, and the loss is shrinking due to cost improvement effects, including quality enhancement. Energy Application Products. Net sales were JPY 1,370.3 billion, up 16.5%.
Operating profit, JPY 246.7 billion, up 5.2%. Rechargeable batteries. Small capacity batteries sales for smartphones increased with new models, and medium batteries sales also grew for the industrial equipment. Rechargeable batteries in total grew both in sales and profit. Power supplies for industrial equipment showed a gradual recovery in demand and both sales and profit increased.
The factors for changes in net sales and operating profit by segment from the third quarter to fourth quarter. First, in the Passive Components, sales were up JPY 2.5 trillion, 1.6%, and operating profit was down JPY 4.2 billion, partly due to the fixed asset taxes. Ceramic capacitor sales for the automotive market decreased, but sales for industrial equipment for AI data centers and others increased, resulting in higher sales and profit remained virtually flat.
Aluminum and film capacitors saw increased sales for renewable energy and AI data centers. Net sales and profit increased. Inductors. While sales were flat, profit decreased due to mix deterioration and utilization losses from the Chinese New Year holidays in facilities in China. High-frequency components saw a decrease in sales for the ICT market due to seasonality, and sales and profit decreased.
Piezoelectric products and circuit protection components sales and profit increased. Next, Sensor Application Products. Sales decreased by JPY 2.9 billion, 4.9%, and operating profit significantly decreased by JPY 7 billion. Temperature and pressure sensor sales were flat, but recorded losses due to structural reform expenses of JPY 300 million. Magnetic sensors. Hall sensors, sales of Hall sensors were flat, sales of TMR sensors for ICT decreased with seasonality, and net sales decreased for the total magnetic sensors.
Profit significantly decreased due to the structural reform expenses of JPY 1.2 billion in Hall sensors. MEMS sensors, sales of MEMS microphones and motion sensors were flat, but the profit decreased due to the structural reform expenses. Next, the Magnetic Application Products sales increased by JPY 5 billion, 7.1% from Q3, and operating profit was flat.
HDD heads, sales volume increased by 9% and sales and profit increased, while sales volume of suspensions was down 5% due to the reaction to front-loaded shipments in the Q3 and sales and profit decreased. For HDD heads and suspension as a whole, sales increased but the profit decreased. In magnets, we are proceeding with price pass-through of material prices. Sales increased and the loss has narrowed.
Finally, in the Energy Application Products... Sorry, Energy Application Products, sales decreased by JPY 32 billion, or 8.5% QOQ, and operating profit decreased by JPY 25.8 billion, or 38.3%. Sales volume of small capacity batteries for the ICT market decreased by about 14% due to seasonality, and the sales and profit decreased. Power supplies for industrial equipment showed a trend in recovery in demand, and the sales and profit increased.
Next, analysis of a JPY 48.2 billion increase in operating profit. Increased sales volume across all segments resulted in JPY 128.6 billion increase in profit. Rationalization and cost reduction of JPY 18.8 billion and the restructuring effects implemented in the previous term of JPY 5.9 billion contributed to the higher profit, while selling price fluctuation had a negative impact of JPY 53.2 billion.
SG&A expenses increased by JPY 44.6 billion due to higher R&D expenses, mainly in rechargeable batteries with accelerated development of new technologies and products. Although there was a negative impact of JPY 3.3 billion from the decrease in one-time income from the previous year, JPY 6.6 billion decrease in the restructuring expenses, and negative FX impact of JPY 10.6 billion.
In total, the profit increased by JPY 48.2 billion from the higher sales volume. Next, cash flow situations. For the full year, operating cash flow was JPY 507.7 billion, and investment cash flow saw an increase in CapEx, mainly for rechargeable batteries in new products and technologies. In net, it was up 133 billion yen year-on-year.
Free cash flow was JPY 129.9 billion, down JPY 71.1 billion year-on-year, but it trended above the expected level. Next, the full year projections for the fiscal year March 2027. First, I will talk about the production volume forecasts for major devices as the assumptions for projections. For the automotive market, we expect total production to decrease by about 1% and XEVs to increase by about 13%.
For smartphone production volume in ICT market, we forecast 1.112 billion units, 10% decrease impacted by memory shortages. The total HDD market will decrease by about 2%, but demand for AI data centers will remain strong, and we expect production of Nearline HDDs for data centers to increase by 7%. For laptops and tablets, we expect decreases by 12% and 8% respectively due to memory shortages similar to smartphones. With growth in demand for AI servers, we have included the outlook for AI server boards, which will increase by 21%. Next, the consolidated earnings projections for the fiscal year March 2027.
Based on the device market forecasts and the recent demand trends, our full year projections are JPY 2.58 trillion in net sales, operating profit JPY 295 billion, and net profit JPY 225 billion. For exchange rates, we assume 150 yen to the dollar and 175 yen to the euro, roughly the same level as the average for the fiscal year ending March 2026.
We forecast free cash flow of JPY 60 billion as we plan a significant increase in CapEx for midterm growth. For business portfolio management, we plan about JPY 6 billion in one-time expenses, such as restructuring costs. For the dividend per share, considering the profit increase, we plan JPY 20 each for mid-year and year-end, JPY 40 for the full year. Next, the image of net sales changes by segment for the full year.
Since the currency impact is minor, we will compare based on disclosed figures. For Passive Components, sales of inductive devices for automotive and products for AI servers, including aluminum electrolytic capacitors, will grow, thus a 5%-8% increase overall. Sensor Application Products, while magnetic sensor sales volume will decrease, we expect an overall range of flat to +3% with sales growth of new microphone products in MEMS sensors.
Magnetic Application Products with Nearline HDD head sales volume increase about 50% with orders from captive manufacturers and the suspension sales volume up about 22%, leading to a significant increase by 21%-24% overall. Lastly, Energy Application Products. While smartphone production decreases about 10%, we expect small capacity batteries sales volume to be down about 7% due to improved mix and share gain, resulting in a range of -3% to flat overall.
Next, I will explain the changes in operating profit for the fiscal year ending March 2027. We project JPY 20 billion increase due to higher sales volumes, primarily in Passive Components. We anticipate JPY 28 billion increase from profitability improvements in businesses currently classified as undergoing improvement, such as HDD heads and aluminum electrolytic capacitors.
We expect JPY 4 billion increase from loss reduction resulting from exiting businesses such as EV power supply and camera module actuator businesses. Furthermore, we plan to absorb JPY 45 billion impact of selling price fluctuations by enhancing cost competitiveness through rationalization and cost down effect JPY 30 billion, effect structural reforms from previous year's JPY 3 billion, reduction in one-time expense JPY 9 billion.
Regarding expenses for future growth, we plan an increase of JPY 19.4 billion in SG&A expenses, primarily for R&D to strengthen new product and technologies in secondary batteries and HDD heads, and an investment of JPY 5 billion, mainly in R&D for new business expansions, such as edge AI-related businesses.
Finally, including a minor impact of JPY 2 billion from yen appreciation, we project an overall increase in operating profit of JPY 22.6 billion. Next, I will explain the projection for various expenses. For the CapEx, we plan a total of JPY 370 billion, actively investing in new technology and product launches for small batteries, as well as facilities for HAMR compatible HDD heads and further capacity expansion for suspensions. Depreciation, we project JPY 240 billion, reflecting the increase from capital investments made in previous fiscal year R&D expenses.
We plan for JPY 310 billion, focusing on developing new technology for secondary batteries, HAMR-related development for HDD heads, and accelerating development to expand new businesses such as edge AI. Lastly, I will explain about dividends. Our policy for the current mid-term management plan is to provide shareholder returns based on 35% payout ratio. For FY 2026 March, we initially planned an interim dividend of JPY 16 and a year-end dividend of JPY 18.
However, based on increased profits, we have raised the year-end dividend to JPY 20, totaling an annual dividend of JPY 36. For FY 2027 March, we plan to increase the dividend to JPY 14 annually, with both interim and year-end dividends at JPY 20 each. We'll continue to consider appropriate shareholder returns based on future profit performance and our cash on hand situation. This concludes my explanation. Thank you very much.
Now I will explain the progress of our midterm management plan. I will explain the actual results and projections for financial KPIs of this midterm management plan. In FY 2026 March, we achieved record high sales and profits at every level, meeting all of our KPIs. For FY 2027 March, the final year of the plan, we will strengthen both financial and non-financial initiatives to achieve our targets and focus on capital profitability by further enhancing our strengths.
Regarding the progress of our capital allocation policy, we initially expected roughly JPY 1 trillion in operating cash flow over the three-year period. However, since the FCF exceeded our initial expectations in the first two years, we now forecast a total three-year surplus of JPY 300 billion. Of this, approximately JPY 130 billion will be used flexibly for strategic investments.
For the CapEx, we are going to add JPY 200 billion primarily for the Energy and Magnetic Application segments. For energy, we are increasing investment in related equipment to meet the strong demand for innovative battery technologies. For Magnetic Applications, we are expanding the capacity to meet strong demand for both heads and suspensions. The investment for head is specifically for HAMR production launch.
Regarding strategic investment, as we did with the acquisition of SoftEye last year, we will continue to invest actively in the AI ecosystem. Next, I will explain the progress of three key points of our new midterm management plan. Regarding the first point, strengthening cash flow management, as I have explained, we have exceeded our initial projections. Regarding the third point, the evolution of our Ferrite tree strengthening non-financial capital, we have made various advances.
We will continue to enhance these alongside our sustainability and DX initiatives to evolve the Ferrite tree significantly. Regarding the second point, proactive business portfolio management, I will explain this in detail in the following slides. As I mentioned in last November, we are strengthening, accelerating, and promoting proactive business portfolio management to achieve an ROE of 15% or higher and an ROIC of 12% or higher. Our portfolio management is primarily about promoting growth strategy.
The key points are, first, organic growth and profitability improvement of growth driving business. Second, actions for business to be intensively monitored. Third, inorganic growth, including R&D, CVC investments, and M&A. As we have mentioned previously, we view various AI-related applications as part of an AI ecosystem. This slide shows the sales growth performance and projections for AI ecosystem market, which I explained last April.
Last year, it accounted for slightly over 10% of total company sales. By FY 2027 March, it is expected to grow by 25%, reaching around 15% of total sales. Today, I will focus on our blue and green existing products and the new gray shaded business focusing on semiconductor manufacturing equipment. First, regarding our HDD head and suspension business among our existing products.
Demand for storage capacity in the HDD market is growing stronger than initially anticipated. HDD manufacturers are responding to this demand by increasing storage capacity per drive rather than increasing unit volume. This presents a major business opportunity for us. We have already started mass production of MAMR technology, which enables high density magnetic recording. In two years, we plan to launch mass production of HAMR and increase our high value-added product ratio and make our HDD head business a high profit venture.
Next, regarding Passive Components, we possess a wide product lineup to support AI data center infrastructure. Data center power unit voltages will increase to 400-800 volts. We see this as an opportunity for our high voltage capable products where we have a competitive edge in xEV applications such as aluminum capacitors, MLCCs, and film capacitors. We are also strengthening the low voltage domain.
We announced the establishment of a joint venture with Nippon Chemical Industrial on April 2nd. This joint venture will accelerate the development of materials for low voltage, high capacity MLCCs used in data centers. We are also enhancing inductors. Vertical power delivery, which addresses a low voltage, high current challenge, is an opportunity for us to help reduce power consumption in data centers.
We hold various inductor technologies, wire-wound, multilayer, and thin film, and are accelerating capacity expansion for thin film inductors, which will contribute to earnings in this term. Demand for thin film inductors for optical transceivers and chip beads is also robust. Through these initiatives, we plan to increase sales of Passive Components for AI data centers by approximately tenfold.
We will continue to refine our competitive edge in both high voltage and low voltage areas, executing each strategy with timely and aggressive investment. Next, I will explain the progress of our initiatives for semiconductor manufacturing equipment as presented at the Investor Day on November 28th. We'll sell equipment such as load ports and flip chip bonders.
We plan to expand this business by combining high density, high precision mounting technology with high reliability and high heat dissipation materials to contribute to reduce power consumption in order to expand our business. Today, I will focus on the progress of our semiconductor bonding materials. We have acquired technology from Naphra related to nanocomposite materials, which offer higher heat dissipation than the precious metals like silver currently used for logic and power IC bonding materials.
This material offers numerous advantages, heat resistance, reliability, and heat dissipation. We have decided to aim for the industry's first mass production of this material. We plan to begin mass production for some customers during the next fiscal year. We have already received many inquiries and are considering expanding this to our internal product lineup.
This material holds great potential for reducing power consumption in high density packaging and is expected to expand into many markets beyond semiconductors. Going forward, we will be collaborating with our partners and enhance this business, and therefore, please have great expectation to us. Next, I will explain the progress of our portfolio management. Out of 29 total CBUs, two business units have reached profitability.
The number of businesses under improvement that have a clear path to profitability has increased from nine to 13. These are primarily Passive Components CBUs. We will determine the direction for the five CBUs currently under discussion by the end of this fiscal year, which is the final year of the midterm plan.
Additionally, while the effect is about JPY 32 billion from FY 2026 to FY 2027 March, we estimate the cumulative improvement effect during this midterm plan to be approximately JPY 90 billion. Following the progress made of our portfolio management, ROIC by segment had improved as shown here. We will continue to focus on capital profitability to raise the ROIC-WACC spread and aim for expanded cash flow.
Finally, regarding inorganic growth, which is the third pillar, in April, we reorganized the corporate marketing and incubation group, integrating the Passive Components and Sensor sales teams to establish a sales and marketing headquarters responsible for company-wide sales. We have also made the incubation group independent and placed it within the R&D center to further strengthen new business creation. Through these changes, we will transform our value creation cycle to be more agile and more efficient.
At the September Investor Day, we plan to explain our efforts regarding human capital, the root of Ferrite tree, and software technologies such as SensiML, AI, and the AR platform. Through this transformation, our value creation chain, we will continue to grow the Ferrite tree sustainably. This concludes my presentation. Thank you for your attention.