ENVALITH
JX金属株式会社 logo

JX Advanced Metals Corporation

5016・Prime Market・Nonferrous Metals

JX金属株式会社 logo
JX Advanced Metals Corporation5016

Business

JX Metals is a non-ferrous advanced materials manufacturer whose core products are Sputtering Targets for Semiconductors and Rolled Copper Foil (HA Foil), and which operates an integrated value chain spanning copper and rare metal resource development, smelting and recycling, and the manufacture and sale of advanced materials. The company positions its Focus Businesses (Semiconductor Materials and Information & Communications Materials) as the core of its growth strategy, supported by its Base Business (Basic Materials), which underpins the supply chain. Its main customers include major semiconductor manufacturers and smartphone and AI server manufacturers, and it operates global production and sales sites across the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The company listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March 2025, marking its 120th anniversary since founding.

Business Model

The base business, which holds resource interests in copper and rare metals (Chilean copper mines, etc.) and possesses world-class smelting capacity, provides a stable supply of raw materials, while the focus business manufactures and sells high-value-added products such as Sputtering Targets for Semiconductors and Rolled Copper Foil (HA Foil) using core technologies including high-purity refining and composition control. By securing standard material designations from semiconductor equipment manufacturers and obtaining material designations from end users, the company ensures stable order intake and achieves high profitability through technological differentiation.

Company Strengths

The company has established a top-class global market position across a wide range of materials including copper, tantalum, titanium, cobalt, and tungsten. It possesses a combination of high-purification technology enabling the production of 9N (99.9999999%) copper, along with composition/structure control technology, surface control technology, and analytical evaluation technology, and has a track record of being designated as a standard material by major semiconductor equipment manufacturers.

The company has established machining sites and technical service sites in the US, Taiwan, and South Korea—the world's major semiconductor production regions—and has built a stable and rapid product supply system by maintaining a certain level of inventory. The new Mesa, Arizona plant in the US was completed in November 2024, and the Hitachinaka Plant opened on March 26, 2026. The company is currently carrying out capital investment aimed at achieving production capacity of approximately 1.6 times that of FY2024 (ended March 2024) by FY2028 (ending March 2028).

The company holds interests in the Caserones, Los Pelambres, and Escondida copper mines in Chile, and has a smelting system centered on the Saganoseki Smelter & Refinery, one of the world's leading production facilities. For tantalum, the company has established an integrated supply chain from the Mibra mine in Brazil, through TANIOBIS GmbH, to the Tokyo Electrolytic & Thin Film Materials Division. It has also set up a recycling raw material collection system through JXCS, a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation.

ENVALITH's Perspective

For FY2026 (ending March 2026), net sales reached ¥884,638 million (up 23.7% year on year), operating profit reached ¥174,967 million (up 55.5% year on year), and profit attributable to owners of parent reached ¥104,645 million (up 53.3% year on year), representing substantial increases across all metrics. All segments—Semiconductor Materials, Information & Communications Materials, and Basic Materials—achieved higher profits. In addition to the external factor of expanding AI-related investment, the company's own product competitiveness, reflected in increased sales of sputtering targets, rolled copper foil, and titanium copper, contributed in combination, which merits a favorable assessment.

Of the ¥174,967 million in operating profit, equity-method investment profit accounted for ¥114,491 million, a structure that implies performance is susceptible to external factors such as MLCC market conditions. In addition, due to a significant deterioration in copper concentrate purchase terms (TC/RC), the company has disclosed that it is considering production cuts at its group smelters, which could become a factor depressing profitability in the Basic Materials segment. Achieving the FY2027 (ending March 2027) forecast (operating profit of ¥190,000 million) is premised on the stability of copper prices (assumed at 520 cents/pound) and the exchange rate (¥150/dollar).

On May 11, 2026, the company simultaneously resolved to conduct a tender offer for treasury stock buyback of up to 57,300,022 shares and up to ¥250,000 million, and to issue euro-yen denominated convertible bonds maturing in 2029 and 2031 (¥125,000 million each). The structure of allocating CB issuance proceeds to treasury stock purchases increases financial leverage, while the shareholder return policy has also been raised, with the dividend payout ratio increasing from 20% to 25% (with a floor of ¥20 per share). Combined with the full consolidation of Toho Titanium as a wholly owned subsidiary (effective June 1, 2026), the resulting changes in capital structure will be an important variable for future investment decisions.

Growth Strategy

Capturing AI and semiconductor demand through technological differentiation of focus businesses and expansion of the global production system

Centered on the Hitachinaka Plant (opened March 26, 2026) and the new plant in Mesa, Arizona, USA (completed November 2024), the company is strengthening supply capacity for advanced logic and HBM applications. It is also expanding its next-generation product lineup through the full-scale start of supply of CVD & ALD Materials.

In addition to expanding adoption of Titanium Copper for AI servers and increasing sales of Rolled Copper Foil, the company continues revenue structure reforms aimed at improving profitability and productivity. It aims to improve profit margins while incorporating the effects of consolidating Tatsuta Electric Wire as a subsidiary.

A share exchange agreement was concluded on February 25, 2026, to make Toho Titanium a wholly-owned subsidiary (share exchange ratio: 0.70 shares of the Company per 1 share of Toho Titanium). By internalizing production of titanium materials for advanced semiconductors and aerospace applications, the company will expand the product lineup of its focus businesses.

The company transferred its held MLCC shares (5%) and interests in the Frontera Project to Lundin for a total of ¥34,109 million (completed April 7, 2026). Following the sale, the company retains a 25% equity interest in MLCC and continues to apply the equity method. It is promoting the reinforcement of its base businesses with an emphasis on capital efficiency.

The company is conducting a tender offer to repurchase its own shares, up to a maximum of 57,300,022 shares and ¥250,000 million (May 21, 2026 to June 17, 2026). As a funding measure, it will issue Euroyen-denominated convertible bonds maturing in 2029 and 2031 (¥125.0 billion each). The shareholder return policy has been changed to a payout ratio of 25% with a floor of ¥20 per share, shifting to a capital policy that emphasizes total shareholder return ratio.

Last updated: July 19, 2026