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Sangetsu Corporation Q2 Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ending March 2020 November 20, 2019

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Page 1: Sangetsu Corporation...Support Japan 03.4405.3160 North America 1.800.674.8375 Tollfree 0120.966.744 Email Support support@scriptsasia.com 2 Presentation Moderator: Now, we will start

Sangetsu Corporation Q2 Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ending March 2020

November 20, 2019

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Event Summary

[Company Name] Sangetsu Corporation

[Event Type] Earnings Announcement

[Event Name] Q2 Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ending March 2020

[Fiscal Period] FY2019 Q2

[Date] November 20, 2019

[Number of Pages] 28

[Time] 10:30 – 11:15

(Total: 45 minutes, Presentation: 39 minutes, Q&A: 6 minutes)

[Venue] 6F Nomura Shoken Nihonbashi Head Office

1-9-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8011

[Venue Size]

[Participants] 30

[Number of Speakers] 2

Shosuke Yasuda President, CEO

Tatsuo Sukekawa General Manager Financing & Accounting

Division

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Presentation

Moderator: Now, we will start a financial results briefing of Sangetsu Corporation. Thank you for coming today while you are busy.

First of all, I would like to introduce the attendees of today's meeting. Mr. Shosuke Yasuda, President and CEO.

Yasuda: Thank you.

Moderator: Mr. Tatsuo Sukekawa, General Manager of Finance and Accounting Division.

Sukekawa: Thank you.

Moderator: We have distributed the financial results briefing material and a questionnaire form. The questionnaire will be used as a reference for our IR activities in the future, and we look forward to your cooperation.

Next, I would like to briefly explain today's schedule. At the beginning, President Yasuda will explain the second quarter financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, the status of initiatives and issues in the medium-term management plan, as well as the outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020. Then, we will have time for question-and-answer, so if you have any questions, we will receive them at that time.

The content of today's financial results briefing will be distributed in text, including questions and answers. We ask for your understanding.

President Yasuda will explain. President, please.

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Yasuda: As for the material on hand, I would like to skip some pages in my explanation. First, I would like to explain the first half results.

Sales were 80.06 billion yen, 4.1 billion yen higher compared to the previous fiscal year. However, we sold Yamada Shomei Lighting, which was in charge of the Lighting segment, in April of this year. This resulted in a decline of 1.9 billion yen in sales. Sales from other businesses increased by 6 billion yen, or 8%.

Gross profit was 26.4 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 2.86 billion yen, or 12.2%. The Lighting segment saw a 590-million-yen decline. This means that other businesses posted an increase of 3.45 billion yen.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were 21.85 billion yen, an increase of 0.5 billion yen from the previous fiscal year. Similarly, as sales, general and administrative expenses for Yamada Shomei Lighting declined 580 million yen, SG&A expenses rose 1.08 billion yen year-on-year, which was 250 million yen higher than planned.

Operating income was 4.54 billion yen, an increase of 2.35 billion yen, roughly doubled, from the previous fiscal year.

Net income was 3.63 billion yen, up 1.79 billion yen from the previous fiscal year and up 930 million yen compared to the plan. This was a record-high profit in the first half of the fiscal year.

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Looking at this year's results in more detail, I think that the most important point is the recovery of business profitability in the Domestic Interiors segment. Since FY2014, when I became President, we have been reviewing our businesses in various ways and taking measures to strengthen our business foundation. This has led to a significant increase in selling, general and administrative expenses.

As you have seen, SG&A expenses increased by more than 1 billion yen year-on-year. However, SG&A expenses include costs for transportation and distribution facilities, as well as increased personnel expenses. Furthermore, we raised product prices on October 1, 2018, in order to respond the higher costs for the walls, flooring, and other materials we procured. These price increases resulted in a significant increase in gross profit, which resulted in a significant increase in operating income in the Domestic Interiors segment.

To briefly explain the situation by product in this Interiors segment, there are three main categories: wall materials, flooring materials, and fabrics. In the first half of the fiscal year under review, sales volume of wallboard materials declined slightly from the previous fiscal year. On the other hand, prices rose due to the penetration of price increases for wallpapers, which are the core of wallpaper materials.

In terms of flooring materials, although there was a slight increase in terms of volume, last year we limited the price increase for flooring materials to some products due to the situation of our competitors.

As for fabrics, both volume and price have increased slightly.

The increase in SG&A expenses is attributable to the start of depreciation of the new backbone system, which commenced operation on October 1, 2018, an increase of transportation and delivery expenses due to the acceptance of price increases, an increase of sales incentives paid to sales agents due to the increase in sales,

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and an increase in performance-linked bonuses due to the increase in business performance. The results were almost as planned.

Meanwhile, in the Exteriors segment, the increase in sales was partly attributable to a variety of construction projects following the typhoon and earthquake that occurred last year. Profit also increased due to an increase of the back margin from manufacturers, as well as an increase in orders for high-margin projects.

In addition, over the last three weeks of September, we believe there was a rush in demand for exterior products prior to the consumption tax hike.

On the other hand, with regard to the Overseas segment, which is an issue, regarding KOROSEAL, which operates in the US and Canada, the new construction market for mid-to-high-end, full-service hotels, which are their main market, has been sluggish over the past two years. As a result, sales declined. Furthermore, there was a dispute with designers with whom we have signed design licenses, and we recorded settlement costs. These had a negative impact on operating income.

Meanwhile, as for Sangetsudo Shanghai, which we operate in China, we were able to maintain a certain level of gross profit, due to an increase in transactions with small-lot customers in China, despite a decrease in sales of wallpapers for large-scale condominiums.

Goodrich, which operates in China and Southeast Asia, posted a decline in sales due to a slump in the mainstay hotel market. However, there was a temporary negative factor in the previous fiscal year, resulting in a year-on-year increase in sales.

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Looking at the results, including past trends on page eight, the sales in the first half shown in the yellow line above have been rising over the past few years. But as I mentioned earlier, both operating income and net

income have declined over the last three second quarters, due to an increase in SG&A expenses. As I

mentioned, in the first half of the fiscal year under review, operating income and net income increased, due to the effects of the price increase, in addition to efforts to keep down the rise in SG&A expenses to a small extent.

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Looking at gross profit and SG&A expenses in more detail, as shown here, gross profit and SG&A expenses grew significantly from the period ended September 2016 to the period ended September 2017. One of the major factors behind this is that the Company acquired and consolidated KOROSEAL in the United States in the period ended September 2017, as well as Goodrich in Southeast Asia in the period ended September 2018.

As a result, SG&A expenses rose in those two periods. On the other hand, SG&A expenses rose because SG&A expenses of Sangetsu on a non-consolidated basis continued to rise throughout the period. However, gross profit growth has caught up with the increase in SG&A expenses. As a result, operating income, which had been in a slump, recovered to the level of the period ended September 2015.

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Let's look at the breakdown of changes in income before income taxes.

Positive factors are described in blue and negative factors in red. As shown here in blue, the total profit of Sangetsu in the Interiors segment increased by 2.72 billion yen on a non-consolidated basis. The Other Interiors segment includes three subsidiaries: FAIRTONE COMPANY, LIMITED, a construction company, Sangetsu Vosne Corporation, a curtain sales company, and Sangetsu Okinawa Corporation, a regional subsidiary. All three companies reported higher gross profit. In the Overseas segment, subsidiaries recorded higher gross profit and total gross profit also increased, but the increase in SG&A expenses exceeded the increase of gross profit.

Extraordinary gains of 240 million yen include gains related to the sale of Yamada Shomei Lighting.

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I would like to explain the situation within the segments in more detail.

As I mentioned earlier, the Interiors segment includes three products: wall materials, flooring materials, and fabrics. In the Interiors segment, total sales rose 9.3%, but sales of wall materials grew the most, at 9.5%, flooring materials at 8.8%, and fabrics at 5%. In addition, we achieved a 13.3% increase in gross profit for the three companies I mentioned earlier. Operating income increased 2.19 billion yen year-on-year in the Interiors segment. In the exterior segment, and both sales and operating income grew steadily.

With regard to the Overseas segment, operating income declined 0.4 billion yen. Operating income before amortization of goodwill, intangibles, etc. increased 10 million yen.

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I would like to explain the status of the three products in the Interiors segment.

These three products are the pillars of profitability for the entire Sangetsu Group. Usually, we explain the situation of the Housing-Related Business, which has the greatest impact on wallpapers. There is a time lag of three to four months between the start of construction and the shipment of interior materials, so in order to see the situation of the period from April to September, we have indicated the number of new housing starts and the area for the period from January to June this year, announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

The number of new housing starts decreased by 0.2%, but the number of owner-occupied houses, which have a large area per unit, increased, while the number of leased houses, which have a small area per unit, decreased. As a result, the area of new housing starts increased by 3.2%. Regarding home renovation, on the other hand, although this is our estimate, it may have increased by about 5.2%. In this regard, we believe that there was growth in the market, including the rush demand before the consumption tax hike.

On the other hand, the shipments by the industry, the Japan Wall Association, and manufacturers, decreased 0.5%. We cannot clearly explain this, but we understand that there is a slight time lag between the shipment of manufacturers and the shipment of inventories held by the distribution side, like us. Perhaps from such a viewpoint, the result is a decrease of 0.5%.

On the other hand, as I explained earlier, the sales amount of our wall materials increased by 9.5%. The reason for the 9.5% increase was, as I mentioned earlier, the effects of the price increase. There are three types of products: high-grade, medium-grade, and mass-produced. The volume of medium-grade products decreased, due to various problems in the previous fiscal year; however, the volume increased, due to the recovery from troubles this year. On the other hand, we have issued new sample books for mass-produced and low-priced

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products in order to further increase sales. However, the issue of this new sample book was delayed to June, and the recovery in volume is still in progress. As a result, the volume of mass-produced products has decreased from the previous fiscal year. As a result, as mentioned earlier, the volume of wall materials has decreased slightly.

Next is flooring materials.

Construction starts for non-residential buildings, excluding warehouses and factories, had been negative in both FY2018 and FY2019. Also in the first half of the fiscal year under review, apart from the growth in the medical and welfare sectors, the floor space for new construction starts for new buildings continued to decrease.

On the merchandise front, the industry association announced that, while long carpets declined, carpet tiles and long seats made a growth, and floor tiles declined slightly.

As for our work, carpet tiles for new construction and renovation related to offices and accommodation hotels are increasing. Sales of vinyl chloride tiles, which are used in commercial and rental housing, also grew steadily. Sales of long vinyl chloride sheets, used in medical and other applications, were also strong. Although there was some tailwind in the market, we believe that our new products were very well received by the market and that marketing activities targeting design, general contractors, and business owners are beginning to bear fruit.

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Let's look at the situation of fabric.

As you can see, sales of fabrics had been declining continuously, but in the first half of the year it rose 5%, to 4.12 billion yen. This is due in part to the effects of price increases, but the volume also increased. The increase in sales volume was attributable to the market's acceptance of changes in the Company's sales price policy. We have also strengthened our product appeal, and diversified our range of sales to strengthen sales, including those of our fabric subsidiaries.

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I will briefly explain the current cash situation on page 16.

We recognize only what are highly liquid, such as time deposits with maturities of more than three months, marketable securities and investment securities, as cash and cash equivalents.

The basic policy is to keep the net cash positive, while holding the cash and cash equivalents of 20 billion yen to 25 billion yen and making use of borrowings. As of the end of September, cash and cash equivalents were 33.68 billion yen, borrowings were 20.12 billion yen, and net cash was 13.55 billion yen.

Cash and cash equivalents and net cash are larger than our benchmark, because there are some delays in investing, and total returns for the first half were lower than in the past. However, we believe we have enough cash.

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We believe this is also a result of improving the Cash Conversion Cycle.

We have been working to improve the low ROE and low ROIC for many years. One of our efforts to improve the ROIC has been to reduce working capital and improve Cash Conversion Cycle. On a consolidated basis, Cash Conversion Cycle was 68.6 days at the end of September. Although the turnover period for accounts receivable decreased only slightly and the turnover period for inventories increased slightly, the significant increase in the turnover period for accounts payable resulted in a total of 68.6 days.

Under the current medium-term management plan, we have set the Cash Conversion Cycle target of 60 to 75 days, and the figure has fallen within the target range.

I have explained the financial results for the first half of the fiscal year.

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Next, I will explain the current status of initiatives under the medium-term management plan.

The first point I will explain is the state of our business structure, and the efficiency of our operations and the strengthening of our sales capabilities.

In the Domestic Interiors Business, we receive an extremely large number of small orders and ship them every day. We receive an average of about 60,000 orders a day. Previously, we had received 60,000 orders by fax, telephone and EDI (on-line). In particular, for fax and telephone, our permanent employees were responsible for receiving these orders and inputting them into the system.

Looking at the April 2016 figures, we see that 60% of orders were received by employees via fax and telephone. This blue is online order, which accounted for 40% of all orders.

In January 2017, we started outsourcing the fax orders on behalf of our employees. This number has grown significantly through FY2018. However, outsourcing is naturally costly. There were still orders handled by employees, but as a result of aggressive efforts to promote EDI with distributors, online orders grew to 55.6% last month, and BPO, outsourced, was 41.9%. As a result, the level of employee involvement has been reduced to 2.5%.

Most importantly, not only the employee involvement, but also the proportion of BPO has declined. We want to further reduce the BPO. In this way, we hope to contribute not only to reforming the work processes of our employees, but also to reducing costs.

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Previously, approximately 350 full-time employees had been involved in this order processing, but the number has naturally been greatly reduced. We have worked to strengthen our sales force by integrating personnel who previously handled order-taking operations into the sales section as a single sales organization. This is a major step toward strengthening our sales structure and sales capabilities.

Previously, the sales system was based on an individual. However, if we maintain the system, we cannot reform the way of working. Since there are also issues with sales capabilities, we are currently moving ahead with a shift to a team system.

We are also taking initiatives on low-share areas. In July this year, we opened an office in Hiroshima, where our market share has been low, and we are currently expanding our market share in the Chugoku-Shikoku region.

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This is logistics.

We have been explaining about the renewal and construction of new facilities. We have decided to lease a whole facility with 13,000 tsubo of Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., for the outdated facilities that are dispersed in two locations in the Kansai region. We are currently working to begin operation in January 2021.

We are currently considering the mechanization of warehouse delivery, cutting wallpaper and other processing in this new Kansai logistics center. We will establish a new logistics center with greatly reduced number of people.

Thus, if we open a new logistics center, our total logistics facilities will be 71,4000 tsubo. Distribution and delivery, including cutting, are considered to be our most important functions, and we believe that they will be further strengthened, including sustainability.

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On the other hand, as shown here, we have constructed our own distribution network in the six Tohoku prefectures. In addition to this, regarding the delivery to the Niigata area, the three prefectures of Hokuriku region, and the Chugoku Shikoku and Minami-Kyushu regions, with a focus on Shikoku, we are shifting from conventional route delivery to our own delivery system. Thus, we are moving forward with further improvements in terms of time and service compared to conventional delivery.

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Regarding issues outside Japan, the first issue relates to KOROSEAL, Inc.

In the US, KOROSEAL's management has been fundamentally reviewed and improved. A new CEO was appointed on July 1, and we are reviewing all aspects of production, products, and sales. Regarding production, as I have explained, a new production facility began full-fledged commercial production in November, and as for the other facility, we plan to start full-scale commercial production after delivery in January.

In the United States, wallpaper is manufactured by printing a design, such as a pattern, on top of a film and then bonding it with the fabric below it, and then embossing it on top. In the new facility, this process can be carried out consistently. And by having seven colors of printers, we can make products with more sophisticated designs. In addition, the production speed is much faster than in the past, which gives us the advantage of increasing the production volume.

However, production facilities alone will not lead to this increase in sales or production volume, so the Company will increase the number of designers in-house. In addition, the Company will review its products, including those other than wallpapers. Furthermore, we will improve sales efficiency There are about 120 sales representatives and regional managers in the US and Canada, and we are working to increase the number of employees and replace them. We are currently strengthening our branding capabilities.

The US has the biggest challenge. I am visiting the US every month to respond to these issues and give instructions, and working with the new CEO to improve management.

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Meanwhile, in China and Southeast Asia, we are currently moving forward with the integration of products, sales system, and sales base of two companies: Sangetsudo Shanghai, which we established in China, and Goodrich, which we acquired two years ago and which has a business base in China and Southeast Asia based in Singapore.

As a first step, we are promoting the interlocking of personnel in Goodrich China and Sangetsudo Shanghai, and the dispatch of personnel from Sangetsudo Shanghai to Goodrich China. We are also preparing for the systematic integration.

On the other hand, in terms of products, Goodrich has traditionally handled products with a focus on Western products, and Sangetsudo Shanghai with a focus on Sangetsu products. In the future, Sangetsu Shanghai will publish a new sample book basically to the suppliers from which Sangetsu deals, and Sangetsudo Shanghai will also handle European and North American products. We are now promoting the mutual introduction and standardization of products.

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As for the governance system, at the general meeting held at the end of June this year, two executive directors and five directors serving as members of the Audit and Supervisory Committee were appointed. Of these five directors, four were independent outside directors. In July, we held a Company briefing for individual shareholders in Tokyo. In October, we held a tour of the Tokyo Logistics Center in Heiwajima for institutional investors.

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Let's look at returned profits to shareholders in the first half of the fiscal year based on our capital policy.

From April to the end of September, we purchased 811,100 shares of treasury stock, 1.63 billion yen. On the other hand, the Company redeemed its 0.6 million shares of treasury stock, and the total number of outstanding shares was 62.25 million. Although the number of shares exceeded 80 million at one time, it has now decreased to 62.25 million.

Dividend was 28.50 yen per share, and total of 1.73 billion yen was paid. The total return to shareholders was 3.36 billion yen, not reaching the first half profit of 3.6 billion yen. As I mentioned earlier, since the total return ratio was in the 260% range two years ago, the return ratio was significantly lower in the first half. However, it is still high compared to the level of the world. The conditions in the medium-term management plan were as described above.

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Finally, the outlook for the full fiscal year is as shown.

Net sales are expected to be 163 billion yen, operating income to be 8 billion yen, ordinary income to be 8.3 billion yen, and net income to be 5.7 billion yen. The figures have been left unchanged, taking into account various difficulties faced by our overseas operations, as well as the possibility of a slight slowdown in domestic interior and exterior demand, particularly in the housing market, in the future.

The above is my explanation.

Moderator: Thank you.

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Question & Answer

Moderator: Now, we would like to receive your questions.

Participant: Thank you for your explanation. I would like to ask several questions. First of all, regarding domestic wall materials, what is the extent of penetration of the price increase compared to what was initially anticipated?

Yasuda: We believe that we were able to achieve what we had assumed internally.

Participant: Is it good to say that the price increase has virtually run its course?

Yasuda: Yes.

Participant: Looking at the figure for the first half of the fiscal year, sales volume of the medium-grade products decreased slightly, despite the recovery from the sharp drop in the previous year. Can I interpret it as a slight decrease in market share in the process of raising prices?

Yasuda: We do not think that this was due to the price increase. As I mentioned at the results briefing in June

or in the first half of last year, there were three factors: the problem of collection of sample books last year, system disruption in October, and the biggest attack by new sample books on mass-produced products of other companies. However, the impact of the collection of sample books and the confusion at the start of the system in October has almost disappeared, and we believe that this has led to an increase in sales of intermediate-grade products.

Regarding mass-produced products, as I mentioned earlier, we have not seen a sufficient recovery against the attack by other companies using a new sample book. However, as we released a new sample book in mid-June, this effect will gradually emerge. I expect that this effect will emerge in the second half of the year and that volume of mass-produced products will recover.

Participant: As for the plan for the second half of the fiscal year, if we simply calculate the figure, the gross profit margin will drop from 33% to 31.4% in the second half. I would like to ask you about the probability of this. Does it mean that gross margin will fall because the popular and low-priced products will have a higher share? Or if you only take risks into account, it will not fall so much?

Yasuda: We have factored in that risk, but on the other hand, in the case of non-residential housing, which is the base of the Flooring Materials Business, around September and October was probably the peak of the market. When we hear the opinions of general contractors and other major customers who are involved in renovation work, they expect a considerable slowdown through the second half of the fiscal year to the next fiscal year. The opinions of interior finishing contractors who are actually engaged in renovation work also show that the amount of work will decrease considerably in the future. We have taken it into consideration.

Participant: The payables turnover period has become considerably longer in the first half of the year. Is this a temporary factor, or will it be fixed?

Yasuda: You can understand that it will continue to be so.

Participant: Is it better to think that the new logistics center in the Kansai region will raise overall costs by increasing the area and introducing new materials handling systems, or should the effects of the consolidation and the effects of labor saving exceed the costs? Should almost no cost increase be expected?

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Yasuda: In terms of costs, as I mentioned earlier, as we will start operations in January 2021, the relocation will incur various temporary expenses next fiscal year. Regarding the new facilities, the area will be considerably wider than the conventional facilities, and the facility will be leased, so for the next fiscal year there will be an increase in the cost by that amount. We do not expect a large increase in other selling, general and administrative expenses, except for personnel expenses, which increase year by year. However, for the Kansai logistics center, we consider it to be an increase factor in FY2021, FY2022, and beyond.

In line with this, we must improve distribution efficiency and increase our market share in the Kansai market.

Participant: Thank you.

Moderator: Do you have any other questions? There seem to be no other questions, so the question-and-answer session will be completed. If you have any other questions, please contact Shirato, IR Section Chief, General Affairs and Public Relations Department.

We will now conclude the financial results briefing of Sangetsu Corporation. Thank you very much to everyone for today.

Yasuda: Thank you.

[END]

______________

Document Notes

1. Portions of the document where the audio is unclear are marked as follows: [Inaudible]. 2. This document has been translated by SCRIPTS Asia.

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