HI-LEX CORPORATION
7279・Standard Market・Transportation Equipment
Business
HI-LEX Corporation is a global automotive parts manufacturer founded in 1963, with Control Cable, Window Regulator, Door Module, Door Latch, and Power Lift Gate as its core products. The company has manufacturing bases in six regions—Japan, North America, China, Asia, Europe, and South America—and consists of the parent company, 49 subsidiaries, and 5 affiliated companies. Major customers are diversified among leading global OEMs, including Kia (12.1% of sales), Hyundai Motor (11.4%), Toyota Motor (11.4%), and Stellantis N.V. (10.4%). The company also operates in the medical equipment field (Ventricular Assist Device (Medical Equipment), etc.). In November 2025, the company made HI-LEX ACT (formerly Mitsui Kinzoku ACT) a wholly-owned subsidiary, expanding its product lineup in the Door Closure System Products field.
Business Model
The company operates a build-to-order production system, receiving provisional order instructions from major automakers roughly 3 months in advance, with confirmed instructions averaging 1 month ahead. Within the group, operations span design and R&D (centered in Japan) through to manufacturing and sales, with manufacturing subsidiaries in each region supplying directly to local OEMs. Of total net sales of ¥304,123 million, North America is the largest region (¥102,987 million), followed by Asia (¥70,962 million), Japan (¥53,546 million), and China (¥47,960 million). The company continues to invest ¥9,969 million in capital expenditures and ¥4,630 million in R&D expenses to maintain product competitiveness.
Company Strengths
The company has manufacturing bases in six regions—Japan, North America, China, Asia, Europe, and South America—and maintains a diversified customer base in which each of the four major global OEMs, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, and Stellantis, accounts for more than 10% of sales. Total sales in FY2025 (ending October 2025) reached ¥304,123 million, with an order backlog of ¥27,026 million.
While the sales share of Control Cable has declined to roughly one-quarter, door-related components such as Window Regulator and Door Module have expanded to account for about two-thirds of sales. Growth products are driving this trend, with Window Regulator sales rising 6.7% year on year to ¥92,717 million and Power Lift Gate sales rising 7.8% year on year to ¥24,324 million.
As of the end of FY2025 (ending October 2025), total net assets stood at ¥191,692 million against total assets of ¥276,997 million, with total liabilities of ¥85,304 million, indicating a high degree of financial soundness. Cash and cash equivalents stood at ¥54,684 million (up 12.8% year on year), and the company maintains its policy of funding working capital and capital expenditures mainly through internal funds.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Revenue for the interim period of FY2026 (ending March 2026, note: October fiscal year-end) reached ¥209,107 million (up 37.3% year on year), achieving substantial revenue growth, but this was mainly attributable to the consolidation of the Act Group (contribution of approximately ¥52,200 million). Revenue from pre-consolidation businesses grew only about 3% year on year. Operating profit came to ¥2,226 million, down 5.0% year on year, marking a temporary slowdown in the recovery trend seen over the past five fiscal periods (from ¥685 million in FY2021 to ¥3,391 million in FY2025). A stronger Mexican peso, lower capacity utilization in China, and lost orders in Korea weighed on earnings from pre-consolidation businesses. The full-year forecast maintains operating profit of ¥5,400 million (up 59.2% year on year), which presupposes a recovery in the second half. In terms of external factors, domestic vehicle production in Japan increased slightly by 1.6% year on year to 4.32 million units, while production in the US declined 2.9% year on year to 4.93 million units, and in China declined 0.8% year on year to 17.22 million units, indicating that the production environment in major markets was generally sluggish overall.
Growth Strategy
Transformation into the world's top Door Closure System supplier through the integration of HI-LEX ACT
Mitsui Kinzoku ACT Corporation (now HI-LEX ACT Corporation) was made a wholly owned subsidiary at an acquisition cost of ¥13,104 million. All shares were acquired effective November 4, 2025, with a deemed acquisition date of October 1, 2025. Nine newly consolidated companies were added, contributing approximately ¥52,200 million to revenue in the interim period. A gain on negative goodwill of ¥28,305 million was recognized (the purchase price allocation is provisional).
By combining HI-LEX ACT's Door Latch & Power Slide Door System technology with the company's own Control Cable and Window Regulator products, the company aims to become an integrated system supplier for entire automotive doors. Joint sales activities and mutual complementarity are being promoted by leveraging the differing customer bases in Japan, Europe, North America, China, and other regions. The contribution to operating profit in the interim period was limited to approximately ¥800 million, with full realization of synergies remaining a task for the future.
The company is promoting functional integration and shared development resources with HI-LEX ACT in electronic control technology required for CASE/SDV-compatible product development. Research and development expenses continued to increase aggressively, reaching ¥3,188 million in the interim period (up 41.7% from ¥2,250 million in the same period of the previous year). The company aims to strengthen the product competitiveness of next-generation door systems.
From the current interim period, the reportable segments were changed from the six categories of Japan, North America, China, Asia, Europe, and South America to the six categories of Japan, Americas, China, Korea, Asia, and Europe & Africa. Korea was established as an independent segment, and the performance management categories were revised following the integration of the ACT Group. The Americas segment became the group's largest segment, with external customer revenue of ¥76,913 million.
Last updated: July 17, 2026