The PSA Japan Weekly Research Round-Up for the Week Ending 4 February 2022

The Weekly Comment Summary
Consumer price inflation is the dog that hasn’t barked as far as Japan’s muddle through economy is concerned. Japan’s JGB market is starting to bet on nominal GDP Growth, comments Pelham Smithers.

PSA Company Visits, Tours, and Interviews
• Presentations at: Z Holdings (4689 JT), TDK (6762 JT), JSR (4185 JT), Dexerials (4980 JT), Sumitomo Chemical (4005 JT), Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings (4188 JT), Hoya Corp (7741 JT), Zeon Corp (4205 JT), Ube Industries (4208 JT), Mitsui Chemicals (4183 JT), Nissan Chemical (4021 JT), Tosoh (4042 JT), Iwatani Corp (8088 JT), Tokuyama (4043 JT), MinebeaMitsumi (6479 JT), GS Yuasa (6674 JT), Denso (6902 JT), Aisin (7259 JT), Toyota Ind (6201 JT), Mitsubishi Electric (6503 JT), HCM (6305 JT), Komatsu (6301 JT)

PSA in the Press
Pelham Smithers is interviewed by the Financial Times where he discusses Sony’s acquisition of Bungie, and the leverage it provides should Microsoft ever try to make an Activision title such as Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox. /content/f34d42bb-776a-4163-b881-b0ede4f38301

Reports / Flash Notes Summaries
1. Yaskawa (6506 JT) – Strong H1 FY22 After FY21 OP Guidance Miss?
2. Sony (6758 JT) Acquires Bungie / Adds Discord into PlayStation / FY21 Q3 Results and Outlook / Is Music Streaming in for a Pay-out Shake-up?

Company / Sector / Thematic Comments
Technology: Consumer Electronics, Gaming
1. Sony (6758 JT) Acquires Bungie / Adds Discord into PlayStation / FY21 Q3 Results
2. Sony’s Live Service Reveal
3. Nintendo (7974 JT)3Q FY21 OP +10% YoY
4. Panasonic 3Q FY21 OP -44% YoY
5. Koei Tecmo (3635 JT) 3Q FY21 OP -2% YoY
6. Square Enix (9684 JT) 3Q FY21 OP +124% YoY
Technology: Industrial Electronics / Components / Semis & SPE / Precision
7. Reactions to Friday 28 Jan’s Results on Monday 31 Jan
8. NEC (6701 JT) 3Q FY21 OP -61% YoY
9. Lasertec (6920 JT) 2Q FY22 OP +43%
10. Murata 3Q FY21 OP +5%, Revises Up
11. Rohm (6963 JT) 3Q FY21 OP +84% YoY
12. Keyence (6961 JT) 3Q FY21 OP +48% YoY
13. Hitachi (6501 JT) 3Q AOI +28% YoY
14. Tokyo Seimitsu (7729 JT) 3Q FY21 OP +108% YoY
15. TDK’s (6762 JT) 3Q FY21 Results Resonates Positively
16. Good AMD (AMD US) Results Sends Semiconductor-SPE Names Higher
17. Nikon (7731 JT)3Q FY21 OP +50% YoY
18. Taiyo Yuden (6976 JT) 3Q FY21 OP +58% YoY
19. Ibiden 3Q FY21 OP +59% YoY
20. Jeol (6951 JT) 3Q FY21 OP +6.5x YoY
Chemicals / Materials
21. Toray (3402 JT) Finds Issues with Resin Product Certifications
22. Dexerials (4980 JT) Revises Up FY21 OP
23. Other Chemical / Materials Results
Autos
24. Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT) Raises FY21 OP Forecast on Volumes, Currency
25. Suzuki (7269 JT) FY21 Q3 Results Hit by Surging Raw Material Costs
26. US Auto Sales Continue to Fall, but Margins Set to Rise
Auto Parts / Machinery
27. Denso (6902 JT) Still Looks to ¥600bil for FY22 OP
28. Aisin (7259 JT) Firm on Cost Reduction
29. Aisin and Denso Rise on Toyota Hopes
30. Toyota Industries (6201 JT) Posts Decent Q3 But Mum on US Forklift Issue
31. HCM (6305 JT) Momentum Fades
32. Daifuku Raises FY21 OP Guidance by 8%
33. Minebea Mitsumi (6479 JT) FY21 OP Boosted by Mitsumi Improvement
Internet / eCommerce
34. ZOZO’s (3092 JT) FY21 Q3 Earnings Beat
35. Z Holdings’ (4689 JT) FY21 Guidance Revised Up to Meet Consensus
36. Mercari Generates Operating Loss in FY22 Q2
37. Mixi (2121 JT) Revises Up, Nearly Back to the Original Targets
Enterprise Software
38. TIS Inc (3626 JT) Holds Back on Raising Forecasts Again
39. NTT Data (9613 JT) Revises Up on Robust Demand
40. DTS 3Q FY21 OP +11% YoY
41. M3 Inc 3Q FY21 OP +21% YoY
Pharma
42. Pharma Sector Results
Miscellaneous
43. NGK Spark Plug (5334 JT) 3Q OP +14% YoY
44. SRE Holdings (2980 JT) 3Q FY21 OP +350% YoY
45. Weak Results at Bearing Makers
46. Improving Revenues at Retailers
Market / Strategy / Macro
47. Buybacks Announced
48. Macro Data Releases