DIC Corporation
4631・Prime Market・Chemicals
Business
DIC Corporation, founded in 1908, is a comprehensive chemical manufacturer with 145 consolidated subsidiaries and 17 affiliated companies. Its business consists of three segments: Packaging & Graphics (Gravure, Flexo, and Jet Inks, packaging materials), Color & Display (Pigments for Coatings & Plastics, Color Filter Pigments, Healthcare Food), and Functional Products (Epoxy Resins, PPS Compounds, Industrial Tapes, hollow fiber membranes). Its major customers span the food packaging, printing, semiconductor, automotive, and display industries, and it is a global business entity generating roughly half of its ¥1,052,194 million in net sales overseas.
Business Model
The company primarily employs a make-to-forecast production model, supplying materials and substances to diverse industries from manufacturing sites around the world. Revenue is underpinned by gross profit from product sales, and profit margins are maintained and improved through pricing measures (profitability corrections and tariff countermeasures) and thorough cost control. By combining the expansion of sales of high-value-added products (such as Jet Inks, Epoxy Resins, and Industrial Tapes) with cost reductions achieved through structural reforms in core businesses, the company has built a revenue structure capable of expanding operating profit even in periods of declining sales.
Company Strengths
With a history spanning more than 100 years since its founding in 1908, the company operates in approximately 60 countries through 145 consolidated subsidiaries and 17 affiliated companies. The global ink and pigment network built through major acquisitions such as Sun Chemical in the U.S. and the Coates group in Europe serves as a source of competitive advantage, enabling region-specific pricing responses and customer development.
The Chemitronics business within the Functional Products segment, which encompasses Epoxy Resins, Industrial Tapes, and photoresist polymers, has maintained solid shipments against the backdrop of expanding demand for AI semiconductor devices. In FY2025, the segment's operating margin reached 7.9%, significantly exceeding the company-wide average (4.96%), functioning as a key growth driver.
The Color & Display segment had recorded an operating loss of ¥300 million in FY2024, but cost reduction effects from structural reforms of the pigment business in Europe and the U.S. materialized, turning the segment profitable with operating income of ¥4,991 million in FY2025. This serves as an example where fixed cost reductions through facility consolidation and production rationalization directly led to earnings improvement, demonstrating the company's strong portfolio management capabilities.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Revenue over the past five fiscal years trended sideways: ¥855,379 million (FY2021) → ¥1,054,201 million (FY2022) → ¥1,038,736 million (FY2023) → ¥1,071,127 million (FY2024) → ¥1,052,194 million (FY2025). Operating profit fell to ¥17,943 million in FY2023 before showing a clear recovery trend, reaching ¥44,521 million in FY2024 and ¥52,192 million in FY2025. In Q1 of FY2026 (ending December 2026), revenue reached ¥282,489 million (+7.8% YoY), operating profit reached ¥24,512 million (+87.7% YoY), and net income attributable to owners of the parent reached ¥19,194 million (+214.7% YoY), marking a substantial increase in earnings. Tailwinds from external factors included robust growth in demand for AI semiconductors, yen depreciation against the EUR (+14.0% YoY), and customers building up inventory in anticipation of Middle East tensions. This also included a one-time earnings boost from the reversal of a repair liability at the German pigment plant (approximately ¥5,800 million). Full-year guidance (revenue of ¥1,100,000 million, operating profit of ¥56,000 million) remains unchanged.
Growth Strategy
Establish growth businesses for an AI-integrated society under Phase 2 of "DIC Vision 2030," targeting operating income of ¥80,000 million or more in FY2030
Promoting expanded shipments of high-value-added digital-field products such as Epoxy Resins for AI semiconductors (e.g., active ester-type curing agents), Industrial Tapes, and UV-Curable Resins & Surfactants for Electronic Materials. Operating income for Functional Products in Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026) reached ¥9,057 million (up 75.3% year on year), a substantial increase confirming the strategy's effectiveness.
As a key theme of Phase 2 of "DIC Vision 2030," the company has set ROIC targets by segment and is working to achieve asset and capital efficiency that exceeds the cost of capital. The method for aggregating segment information was changed from Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026) to more accurately reflect the asset and capital efficiency of each segment.
Plans to sell the entire shareholding in equity-method affiliate Taiyo Holdings Co., Ltd. for approximately ¥82,600 million. Having judged that the scope for synergy realization in the electronics field is limited, the company aims to concentrate management resources on its most critical areas, such as the Smart Living domain. Proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to reduce interest-bearing debt and fund growth investments.
Continuing to promote structural reform of pigment sites in Europe and the Americas within the Color & Display segment. Implemented strategic discontinuation of sales of low-value-added Cosmetic Pigments and improved the product portfolio. Segment operating income in Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026) improved substantially to ¥8,460 million (3.0x year on year), including one-time factors.
Last updated: July 17, 2026