NTN CORPORATION
6472・Prime Market・Machinery
Business
NTN Corporation, founded in 1918, is a leading bearing specialist manufacturer with consolidated group revenue of ¥826,344 million, including 73 subsidiaries and 12 affiliated companies. Its core products are bearings (ball bearings, needle bearings, etc.) and constant velocity joints (CVJ) and axle bearings, supplied to three markets: automotive OEM, industrial machinery OEM, and the aftermarket. The business is organized into four regional segments—Japan, Americas, Europe, and Asia & Other—and the company is a global enterprise with an overseas sales ratio of 74.4%. Automotive-related sales account for roughly 60% of total sales, and the company is also expanding into electrification-compatible products and Condition Monitoring Service.
Business Model
The company operates on two pillars: an OEM business supplying products directly to automakers and industrial machinery manufacturers, and an aftermarket business capturing repair and replacement demand. Domestic manufacturing is handled by the company itself, while overseas manufacturing is conducted by local subsidiaries that receive semi-finished products, forming a vertically integrated structure. For the aftermarket, the company operates "FIRST," a rapid-delivery system for standard products, securing stable earnings by strengthening supply capacity through enhanced inventory. Annual R&D spending of ¥19,950 million is allocated toward shifting to higher value-added products and services.
Company Strengths
Built on tribology technology cultivated since its founding in 1918, the special heat-treated "HA-C" bearing won the "Machinery & Robot Parts Award" at the 2025 "Super" Monozukuri Parts Grand Prix. The company has continuously launched high-value-added products to the market, including the start of mass production of resin-molded insulated bearings and low-particle-generation bearings and low-torque CVJs, confirming its technological differentiation as a demonstrated track record.
With manufacturing bases in four regions—Japan, Americas, Europe, and Asia & Other—the company has achieved an overseas sales ratio of 74.4%. The Asia & Other Segment maintains high profitability with an operating margin of 10.5%, and in India, the company is strengthening its R&D structure and expanding CVJ supply capacity. At the Argonne plant in France (Europe), production capacity for aerospace bearings is being incrementally expanded through FY2030 (ending March 2030).
The rollout of "FIRST," an immediate-delivery inventory system for general-purpose products, to sales subsidiaries, along with the expansion of finished goods inventory, is largely complete. For large MRO bearings, holding material inventory has shortened delivery times, directly contributing to order intake. The company began a bearing analysis service in March 2025 and a CVJ maintenance service for industrial machinery in October, marking the start of an expansion from product sales into service offerings.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Revenue was ¥826,344 million (up 0.1% year on year), essentially flat, but gross margin improved from 17.1% to 18.4% thanks to price pass-through and reductions in variable costs, resulting in operating profit of ¥31,034 million (up 35.2% year on year). Ordinary profit was ¥23,484 million (up 124.2% year on year), aided by an improvement in foreign exchange gains/losses due to yen depreciation (from a loss of ¥4,397 million in the previous period to a gain of ¥488 million in the current period). Extraordinary losses narrowed from ¥19,815 million to ¥11,357 million, and combined with tax effects in the Japan Segment, net income turned positive at ¥12,871 million. For FY2027 (ending March 2027), the company forecasts revenue of ¥810,000 million (down 2.0% year on year) and operating profit of ¥33,000 million (up 6.3% year on year). The assumed exchange rates are 1 US$ = ¥150 and 1 EURO = ¥175.
Growth Strategy
Pursuing a fundamental transformation of the profit structure through a three-pronged approach: production restructuring, price pass-through, and integration with NSK
Improving the profitability structure by strengthening Safety, Quality, Compliance, Cost & Cash, and Delivery & Development. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), operating profit at the CVJ & Axle Business increased 102.4% year on year, with results becoming evident. Cost of sales ratio improvement (from 82.8% to 81.6%) is continuing, and the company aims for further operating margin improvement in FY2027 (ending March 2028).
Promoting fixed cost reductions while recording business restructuring losses such as plant consolidation and severance costs across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Japan. Business restructuring losses in FY2026 (ending March 2026) were ¥3,159 million (down from ¥7,171 million in the prior period). Impairment losses also decreased to ¥8,090 million (from ¥11,735 million in the prior period), indicating that the company is nearing the peak of restructuring.
Promoting a business integration in which a joint holding company is established through a joint share transfer, making both companies wholly owned subsidiaries. The aim is to strengthen resilience against changes in the external environment, such as tariffs in China, Europe, and the United States, through scale expansion, cost efficiency, and consolidation of technology bases in the bearing and precision equipment fields. The share transfer ratio is to be determined in the final agreement based on the results of future due diligence.
Europe posted a loss of ¥1,061 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026), a significant improvement from a loss of ¥4,163 million in the prior period. While the loss has narrowed due to variable and fixed cost reductions and price pass-through, demand from automotive OEM customers continues to decline, and full profitability has not yet been achieved. Production reorganization in the Europe region (with business restructuring losses of ¥1,144 million recorded) is ongoing.
Last updated: July 19, 2026