Report
Joel Scheiman ...
  • Julie Boote
  • Thao Nguyen
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today Feb 1: Wall Street reprieve, financials to the fore/Nihon M&A opportunities/Diesel's fresh scandal/ Upbeat Zeon/IHI's drivers and risks/Start Today reports..... - Nikkei +1.68%

PSA Today Feb 1: Japan Market Comment by Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, William Nestuk and Thao Nguyen
Nikkei ¥23,486.11 (+¥387.82 / +1.68%); Topix ¥1,870.44 (+¥33.73 / +1.84%); ¥/$109.61
Tags: Fujitsu (6702 JP), Fujifilm (4902 JP), Xerox Corp (XRX US), Nihon M&A Center (2127 JP), VW (VOW GR), BMW (BMW GR), Daimler (DAI GR), Zeon Corp(4205 JP), Sumitomo Chemical (4005 JP), IHI (7013 JP), Airbus (AIR FP), JFE (5411 JP), Hitachi Zosen (7004 JP), MHI (7011 JP), KHI (7012 JP), Start Today (3092 JP), Yamato Transport Co., Ltd (9064 JP), LINE (3938 JP), SoftBank (9984 JP), Apple (AAPL US), Amazon (AMZN US)
Main Points at a Glance
• A bounce in Wall Street and the weaker yen takes the Nikkei higher; financials to the fore
• Fujitsu heavily sold off while yesterday’s biggest decliner, Fujifilm, rebounds
• Nihon M&A reports impressive FY17 Q3 earnings
• Monkey issue accelerating diesel's downfall?
• Zeon Corp provides an upbeat explanation  
• IHI is engine driven, but risks persist elsewhere
• Start Today: “ZOZO” saved the day as results failed to impress
• Line: going in all directions to the daily  

Underlyings
Airbus SE

Airbus is an European Aeronautic Defense and Space company whose core business is the manufacturing of commercial aircraft, civil and military helicopters, commercial space launch vehicles, missiles, military aircraft, satellites and defense systems and defense electronics and the rendering of services related to these activities. Co. organizes its businesses into the following five operating divisions: Airbus Commercial, Airbus Military, Eurocopter, Cassidian and Astrium. In addition, Co.'s Other Businesses division engages in the development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of regional turboprop aircraft and aircraft components.

Amazon.com Inc.

Amazon.com serves consumers through its online and physical stores. The company also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Echo, and Ring, and the company develops and produces media content. The company operates customer service centers and provides programs that enable sellers to grow their businesses, sell their products in its stores, and fulfill orders through the company The company serves developers and enterprises of various sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through its Amazon Web Services segment, which provides a set of global compute, storage, database, and other service offerings. The company also provides services, such as advertising.

Apple Inc

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

Bayerische Motoren Werke is a holding company, engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of cars and motorcycles. Co. owns three brands: BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce. Co.'s BMW automobile range encompasses the 1 Series, including coupe and convertible models; the 3 Series, including sedan, touring, coupe and convertible models; the 5 Series, including sedan and touring models; the 6 Series, including coupe or convertible; the 7 Series large sedan; the Z4 roadster and coupe; the sports utility vehicles, X3, X5 and X6 and M models. Co. also provides cars under the MINI brand and motorcycles under the BMW brand. The Rolls-Royce brand provides three cars, Phantom, Coupe and Ghost.

Daimler AG

Daimler provides a range of transportation products, including passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and also financial services. Co. operates in five segments. Mercedes-Benz Cars sells passenger cars and off-road vehicles under the Mercedes-Benz brand and small cars under the smart brand. The Daimler Trucks distributes its trucks (Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, FUSO, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses and BharatBenz). The vans of the Mercedes-Benz Vans segment are sold under the brand name Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner. Daimler Buses sells completely built-up buses (Mercedes-Benz and Setra). The Daimler Financial Services division supports sales of Co.'s automotive brands.

Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu is the parent company of a group engaged in the information and communication technology businesses. Technology Solutions segment provides system integration, application development and integration, system consulting, IT and business process outsourcing services, cloud computing, SAP and Oracle applications services and managed infrastructure services (network and communication, technical and maintenance and service desk services). The segment also offers security platforms, servers, storage systems and software. Ubiquitous Solutions segment offers desktop PCs, notebook PCs, mobile phones and wearable devices. Device Solutions segment offers LSI devices and electronic components.

Hitachi Zosen Corporation

Hitachi Zosen is a manufacturer. Co. offers refuse incineration plants, industrial waste treatment plants, biomass energy systems, water and sludge treatment plants; iron-making machines, forging machines, wind-driven machines, food processing machines, pharmaceutical machines, plastic processing machines, precision machines and power generating units; bridges, doors for water gates, steel chimneys, steel pipes, marine engineering equipment, shield machines and civil engineering equipment. Co. is also engaged in the provision of electronic and control systems, high-accuracy positioning systems and disaster prevention systems, as well as the whole sale of electric power.

IHI Corporation

IHI is engaged in the manufacture and sale of heavy machinery. Resources, Energy and Resources segment offers boilers, power systems, motors for land and marine use, large marine motors and gas storage facilities and process plants. Social Infrastructure and Offshore Facilities segment offers bridges, water gates, steel structures, floating LNG storage facilities and offshore structures. Industrial Systems and General-purpose Machinery segment offers marine machinery, logistics systems, parking systems, steel manufacturing equipment and heat/surface treatment machinery. Aero Engine, Space and Defense segment provides aero engines, rocket systems, and defense systems.

JFE Holdings Inc.

JFE Holdings is a holding company. Co.'s principal business segments are steel, engineering, and trading. Co., through its subsidiaries and associated companies, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel products including sheets, plates, shapes, pipes and tubes, stainless and specialty steels, electrical steels, bars and wire rods, and iron powders; and the provision of engineering services in such fields as energy industries, environmental industries, and water and waste water facilities; as well as the domestic and overseas trading including both importing and exporting, mainly steel products, but also raw materials for steel, non-ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery and ships.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a manufacturer of transport equipment and industrial equipment. Co. is engaged in the manufacture and sale of ships, jet engines, turbines, generating machinery, hydraulic machinery, and industrial robots. Co. also offers railway vehicles, snow removing equipment, aircrafts, industrial machinery, boilers, environmental equipment, steel structures, crushing machines, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATV), utility vehicles, personal watercrafts, and general-purpose gasoline engines, as well as precision machinery such as hydraulic equipment and industrial robots. In addition, Co. is also involved in the agency business of sale and order of its products.

Konica Minolta Inc.

Konica Minolta and its affiliates are mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of information technologies related equipment, optical and sensing devices, and healthcare equipment. Co.'s principal products are multi-functional peripherals ("MFPs"), laser printers, filing devices, facsimile machines, and equipment for production printing systems and graphic arts, as well as related solution services; digital X-ray diagnostic image systems, digital mammography, and diagnostic ultrasound systems; and lens units, pickup lenses for optical disks, TAC films for LCD polarizer, and high-precision photo plates. In addition, Co. is engaged in the operation of planetariums.

LINE Corp.

Line is a global platform for mobile messaging and communication services, as well as provides communication and content and advertising services. Communication and content are primarily provided to end users via various communication and content. Communication mainly includes LINE Stickers. Content includes LINE Games and LINE PLAY. Others within Communication and Contents include LINE Friends service. Advertising services are provided via LINE advertising, livedoor blog and NAVER Matome. LINE advertising includes "messenger ads" such as LINE Official Accounts, LINE Sponsored Stickers and LINE Point Ads and "performance ads" on services such as Timeline and LINE NEWS.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a manufacturer of heavy machinery. Along with its affiliates, Co. is engaged in the design, manufacture, installation, sale and after-sales services of boilers, turbines, diesel engines, power generation facilities, passenger ships, liquefied natural gas ("LNG") ships, liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") ships, container ships, oil tankers, offshore structure, civil aircraft and aero engine, defense equipment, space equipment, waste treatment systems, traffic systems, cranes, forklifts, construction and agricultural machinery, and others. Co. is also engaged in the sale, purchase and leasing of properties and the printing business.

Nihon M&A Center Inc.

Nihon M&A Center is mainly engaged in the mediation business for merger and acquisition ("M&A"). Along with its subsidiary and associated companies, Co. operates in two business segments: M&A mediation and others. The M&A Mediation segment is involved in the marketing, introducing and contract of M&A for Japan-based mid-sized and small-to-medium sized companies. It is also engaged in the corporate revival, corporate restructuring and management buyout ("MBO") businesses. The Others segment is engaged in the operation of the membership organization of regional M&A centers.

SoftBank Group Corp.

SoftBank Group is a holding company. Domestic Telecommunications business provides mobile communication services, mobile devices, broadband services to retail customers, and telecom services to corporate customers in Japan. Sprint business provides mobile communication services and fixed-line telecommunication services in the U.S. Yahoo Japan business operates Internet-based advertising and e-commerce business. Distribution business distributes mobile devices overseas, and sells software and mobile device accessories in Japan. ARM business designs microprocessor intellectual property and related technology. SoftBank Vision Fund & Delta Fund business is engaged in the investment activities.

Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd.

Sumitomo Chemical is a chemical manufacturing company. Co.'s business is comprised of 5 sectors: Petrochemicals & Plastics Sector, Energy & Functional Materials Sector, IT-related Chemicals Sector, Health & Crop Sciences Sector, Pharmaceuticals Sector and Others. Co. is engaged in the manufacture and sale of inorganic and organic chemicals, synthetic fiber materials, metal acrylate, alumina and aluminum products, petrochemical, synthetic resin and rubber products, optical goods, color filters, materials for semiconductors, electronic materials, agrochemicals, fertilizers, agricultural materials, pesticide, dietary additives, pharmaceuticals and radioactive diagnostic products.

Volkswagen AG

Xerox Holdings

Yamato Holdings Co. Ltd.

Yamato Holdings is a holding company. Co., through its subsidiaries and associated companies, operates in seven business segments: delivery, BIZ-logistics, home convenience, e-business, financial, autoworks, and others. "TA-Q-BIN" (a special home delivery system for small parcels) services is the Co.'s core business. Co. is engaged in the provision of small-parcel delivery services including "TA-Q-BIN," "Cool TA-Q-BIN," "TA-Q-BIN Time Service," "Worldwide Delivery Service," "Golf, Sky & Airport Round Trip TA-Q-BIN," "Super-Speed TA-Q-BIN," and "Kuroneko DM-Bin" (posting service); as well as intercompany logistics services, and moving and household effects delivery services.

Zeon Corporation

Zeon is the parent company of a group engaged in the manufacture and sale of chemical products. Along with its affiliates, Co. operates in three business segments: elastomer, specialty materials, and others. Co.'s principal products include synthetic rubbers; synthetic latices; chemicals, such as C5 petroleum resins and thermoplastic elastomers; specialty chemicals, such as synthetic aroma chemicals and industrial chemicals; information materials, such as elastromics materials and polymerized toners; specialty plastics, such as cyclo-olefin polymers; optical materials; medical products; RIM formulations; RIM products; paints; butadiene extraction technology; housing materials; and others.

ZOZO Inc.

Start Today is mainly engaged in the electronic commerce ("EC") business. Along with its subsidiaries, Co. operates in three principal businesses: ZOZOTOWN, B to B, and FURIMA. The ZOZOTOWN business operates brand's online shop on ZOZOTOWN by handling their inventory on a consignment based contract. Co. also purchases fashion items from brands and resell them on each brand's online shop on ZOZOTOWN. Additionally, Co. purchases/resales used fashion products from/to its users. The B to B business supports the brands to operate their individual online stores. The FURIMA business offers users a smartphone application called "ZOZO FURIMA" to sell and purchase personal fashion items.

Provider
Pelham Smithers Associates Ltd
Pelham Smithers Associates Ltd

Founded in 2009, Pelham Smithers Associates (PSA) provides market intelligence on Asian technology, focusing in particular on Japan. The industries covered by our team of specialists are: consumer electronics, telecomms, pharmaceuticals, internet, electronic parts and materials, automotive technology, retail and capital goods. 

PSA produces both company and sector reports. The focus of PSA’s research is to identify winners and losers as new technologies impact the top and bottom lines of corporations. Critical to our research is the clear explanation of how these new technologies work and how they impact companies and industries. 

The founding partners have worked closely together for twenty years and the team has more than doubled in size since 2012. 

Analysts
Joel Scheiman

Julie Boote

Thao Nguyen

William Nestuk

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