Briefing: 1Q earnings broadly in line with plan excluding inventory and expense

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Daicel Corp (4202)

Briefing: 1Q earnings broadly in line with

plan excluding inventory and expense

Maintain Rating: UNDERPERFORM | PO: 1,260 JPY | Price: 1,451 JPY

31 July 2026

Key takeaways

1Q OP exceeded company plan mainly on inventory gains and lower SG&A. Underlying

performance broadly in line with plan.

HPP remained strong, supported by AI-related demand, although part of the volume

growth reflected customer pre-buying.

Price pass-through progressed smoothly and largely offset higher raw material costs.

But inventory gains could fade from 2Q.

1Q underlying performance broadly in line with plan

At the 31 July briefing, management clarified that 1Q results were largely in line with

plan excluding inventory-related gains and lower-than-expected expense recognition.

While earnings momentum appeared strong in 1Q, we expect this is to normalize from

2Q. We therefore maintain our Underperform rating.

Equity

Takashi Enomoto >>

Research Analyst

BofAS Japan

Niima Komura >>

Research Analyst

BofAS Japan

Kyoji Chiba >>

Research Analyst

BofAS Japan

Stock Data

1Q operating profit (OP) of ¥14.0bn exceeded the company plan of ¥6.5bn, driven mainly

by inventory-related gains of ¥6.3bn and lower-than-planned expense recognition of

¥1.2bn. Underlying performance was broadly in line with plan, and the company left its

full-year guidance unchanged.

Price

52-Week Range

1,113-1,658 JPY

In the High Performance Polymers segment, LCP and PPS remained strong on AI server

demand, although volumes for products such as POM included customer pre-buying.

Meanwhile, acetate tow volumes in the Materials segment were weak due to logistics

disruptions related to Middle East tensions. However, the company maintained its fullyear volume outlook, supported by the establishment of alternative logistics routes.

Market Value (mn)

387,200 JPY

Market Value ($mn)

2,430 USD

Price pass-through has generally progressed well, allowing the company to largely offset

higher raw material and fuel costs. However, the company expects feedstock prices to

enter a declining phase, which could lead to lower product prices going forward.

Estimates (¥)

EPS

EPS Change (YoY)

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