Maruo Calcium Co., Ltd.

Business Details

The Group is a single-segment company that manufactures and sells reinforcing fillers for synthetic resins, paints, and rubber, as well as various types of calcium carbonate for pharmaceutical and food additive applications. Its core products are Compound Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (In-house Group Manufactured) and Ground Calcium Carbonate (In-house Group Manufactured / Purchased from Outside the Group), and it also handles inorganic chemicals such as talc and silica. Domestic sales account for approximately 82% of net sales, with exports to China, other parts of Asia, Oceania, the Americas, Europe, and elsewhere. Subsidiaries include Kyushu Calcium Co., Ltd. (manufacture and sale of Ground Calcium Carbonate) and Maruo (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd. (sales). Note that Dongguan Limaru Nano Technology Co., Ltd., a former consolidated subsidiary, completed liquidation as of July 17, 2025, and was excluded from the scope of consolidation.

Recent Overview

Despite lower sales, profit improved substantially due to price revisions, cost reductions, and extraordinary gains; a commemorative dividend was paid for the company's 100th anniversary

In FY2026 (ending March 2026), net sales decreased slightly to ¥12,639 million (down 1.6% year on year) due to a decline in sales related to housing and overseas demand. On the other hand, operating profit improved substantially to ¥85 million (versus ¥5 million in the same period of the previous year), driven by price revisions and cost reductions achieved through a review of manufacturing processes (cost of sales fell 2.2% year on year to ¥10,444 million), as well as a recovery in the earnings capacity of subsidiaries. Ordinary profit rose 62.6% year on year to ¥321 million, supported by increased dividend income and foreign exchange gains, while net profit increased 97.5% year on year to ¥293 million, boosted by a gain of ¥75 million from the sale of cross-shareholdings. In commemoration of the company's 100th anniversary, the year-end dividend was set at ¥60, comprising an ordinary dividend of ¥30 plus a commemorative dividend of ¥30. The consolidated subsidiary Dongguan Limaru Nano Technology Co., Ltd. completed liquidation in July 2025 and was excluded from the scope of consolidation. For FY2027 (ending March 2027), the company forecasts net sales of ¥13,000 million, operating profit of ¥100 million, ordinary profit of ¥250 million, and net profit of ¥150 million (with the dividend expected to decrease to ¥30 following the lapse of the commemorative dividend).

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Improved profitability through revision of the sales pricing structure (continued implementation of price revisions)
• Cost reduction through review of manufacturing processes (reduction of cost of sales)
• Recovery in earnings capacity of subsidiaries (including Kyushu Calcium and others)
• Expansion of sales for synthetic resin applications (¥5,298 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026), 101.6% of the same period of the previous year)
• Expansion of sales for rubber applications (¥798 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026), 101.2% of the same period of the previous year)
• Maintenance of export sales (¥1,889 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026), 100.7% of the same period of the previous year)
• Recording of extraordinary gains from the sale of cross-shareholdings (improvement in capital efficiency)
• Fundamental review of production methods and establishment of a production system utilizing AI (medium- to long-term strategy)
• Development of new markets and applications through M&A and partnerships (medium- to long-term strategy)

Risks

• Rising costs due to soaring raw material and energy prices (prolonged crude oil price surges caused by worsening conditions in Iran)
• Cost increases in labor, logistics, and equipment expenses (labor shortages due to the declining birthrate and aging population)
• Risk of declining exports due to strengthened U.S. tariff policy
• Stagnant demand due to the sluggish Chinese real estate market and deteriorating Japan-China relations (decline in sales to China: from ¥589 million to ¥479 million year on year)
• Risk of declining domestic sales due to weak housing-related demand
• Decline in sales for paint applications (¥2,478 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026), 93.2% of the same period of the previous year)
• Significant gap between the ROE target (8%) and actual performance (3.0% in FY2026 (ending March 2026))
• Impact of rising food and energy prices due to the weaker yen
• Decrease in the number of shares due to share buybacks (222,766 treasury shares at period end) and its impact on capital efficiency