JAPAN PURE CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
4973・Prime Market・Chemicals
Business
Nippon High-Purity Chemical Co., Ltd. (JPC), founded in 1971 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, is a manufacturer specializing in precious metal plating chemicals. The company develops, manufactures, and sells gold, silver, and palladium plating chemicals used in the contact and connection parts of printed circuit boards, semiconductor package substrates, connectors, and lead frames. Its major customers are electronic component makers and general electronics manufacturers, led by Ibiden Co., Ltd. (29.9% of net sales). The company has sales agents in South Korea, Taiwan, China, Singapore, and other locations, with overseas sales accounting for 51.9% of total sales. Of its approximately 60 employees, about 80% are engineers with science or engineering backgrounds, making it a lean, research and development-driven company.
Business Model
The company adopts a "fab-light management" approach without large-scale manufacturing facilities, procuring raw materials externally and specializing in the formulation (weighing and blending) process to minimize fixed asset investment. The source of added value lies in the product recipes (intellectual property), including the proprietary organic compound technology "Protecting Agent" accumulated over many years by its team of engineers, and the company differentiates itself through customer-focused solutions combining precious-metal-saving performance, short lead times, and total process proposals. Although the cost of sales ratio is high at approximately 89%, the company mitigates price fluctuation risk by linking the purchase and sale of precious metals to same-day market prices.
Company Strengths
Since its founding in 1971, the company has accumulated technology through its own independent development system without relying on introduced overseas technology. Having achieved industry-leading cyanide-free electroless gold plating chemicals for FC-BGA, product recipes centered on the company's proprietary organic compound technology, "Protecting Agent," function as intellectual property that is difficult for competitors to imitate in a short period of time.
The company's plating chemicals share the common feature of precious-metal-saving performance that achieves "extremely thin, uniform, and reliable film formation," contributing to reduced precious metal consumption for customers and lower overall line costs. This advantage is also reflected in the steady performance of connector products for smartphones (net sales of ¥2,599 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026), up 40.6% year on year), forming the foundation for long-term customer relationships.
Through "asset-light management" without large-scale manufacturing facilities, the company has restrained fixed asset investment, achieving net assets of ¥18,064 million and ROE of 11.5% (an improvement of 0.2 percentage points year on year) at the end of FY2026 (ending March 2026). It holds cash and cash equivalents of ¥6,952 million, and while maintaining debt-free management, has adopted a stable dividend policy with a DOE floor of 5%.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Revenue bottomed at ¥11,420 million in FY2024 (ended March 2024) and recovered for two consecutive periods, reaching ¥18,073 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026), up 43.3% year on year. External factors—expanding capital investment by hyperscalers for generative AI and elevated precious metal prices—pushed up revenue. On the other hand, operating profit came to only ¥576 million (up 14.7% year on year), and the operating profit margin declined to 3.2% from 4.0% in the previous period. A persistently high cost-of-sales ratio and increased SG&A expenses squeezed the profit margin. Net income was ¥1,803 million (up 14.2% year on year), but this was heavily dependent on a gain of ¥1,655 million from the sale of cross-shareholdings. Operating cash flow deteriorated to -¥772 million from ¥579 million in the previous period, mainly due to an increase in trade receivables and higher corporate tax payments.
Growth Strategy
Advancing in parallel the deepening of existing AI and semiconductor-related businesses, the creation of new businesses such as battery materials, and the improvement of capital efficiency through the reduction of cross-shareholdings
Against the backdrop of expanding infrastructure investment by hyperscalers for generative AI, the company is strengthening sales of plating chemicals for semiconductor packages, modules, and memory. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), sales for Precious Metal Plating Chemicals for Printed Circuit Boards and Semiconductor Package Substrates achieved high growth, reaching ¥8,680 million (up 52.1% year on year). This application is expected to continue as a driving force in the next fiscal year as well.
The company plans to make active R&D investments centered on the development of plating chemicals for new materials and battery materials, aiming to create next-generation products. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), it began reorganizing manufacturing space at the head office (expanding floor space and improving efficiency), strengthening its stable procurement and stable supply systems.
The company's policy is to reduce the ratio of cross-shareholdings to net assets to below 20% during the period of the Medium-Term Management Plan FY2025-2027. As of the end of FY2026 (ending March 2026), the market value of holdings stood at ¥10,743 million (59.5% of net assets), significantly exceeding the target level, and the company continues to promote sales. Gains from the sales are also being used as a source of funds for shareholder returns (annual dividend of ¥200 per share for FY2026, with a payout ratio of 64.1%).
Last updated: July 19, 2026