Chemical Sector: Asahi Kasei and Mitsubishi Chemical announce 1Q FY2026 results

Research evidence excerpt

Chemical Sector: Asahi Kasei and Mitsubishi Chemical announce 1Q FY2026 results

J P M O R G A N Asia Pacific Equity Research

01 August 2026

Chemical Sector

Asahi Kasei and Mitsubishi Chemical announce 1Q

FY2026 results

Asahi Kasei (3407, Overweight) and Mitsubishi Chemical Group (4188, Neutral) Japan Equity Research

reported 1Q (Apr-Jun) results at 12:30 and 13:30, respectively, and hosted

Chemical, Steel

briefings on July 31. Both companies saw areas that are positioned as growth

businesses grow profit (Asahi Kasei: electronics and healthcare, Mitsubishi Yasuhiro Nakada AC

Chemical: specialty materials), and with an additional boost from inventory gains (81-3) 6736-8692

yasuhiro.nakada@jpmorgan.com

in petrochemicals, both reported results above the Bloomberg consensus JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd.

estimates.

Asahi Kasei: Somewhat positive: 1Q FY2026 operating profit was ¥81.3 billion

(+51.5% YoY), 27.0% above the Bloomberg consensus estimate. The North

American homes segment continued to struggle, but this was offset by sales growth

in the healthcare segment, demand growth in areas including electronics, and profit

growth in the material segment due to an inventory receipt/payment difference in

chemicals, leading to a record-high profit for 1Q. While FY2026 guidance is

unchanged due in part to difficulty forecasting naphtha prices, solid results were

confirmed, giving us a somewhat positive impression. The share price turned

downward after the results announcement to close down 4.83% from the previous

day (TOPIX: +1.29%), but we do not believe the results warranted such a drop.

Mitsubishi Chemical: Somewhat positive: 1Q FY2026 operating profit was

¥118.4 billion (+200.7% YoY), 66.9% above the Bloomberg consensus estimate.