Industrial gas major Nippon Sanso Holdings has reported double-digit growth across revenue and earnings in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2027.
The company’s growth was supported by higher shipment volumes, continued price management and stronger demand for electronic material gases.
The results mark a stronger start to fiscal 2027 after Nippon Sanso spent much of the battling softer shipment volumes across several regions.
Despite describing the business environment as “difficult to forecast”, the company said product shipments increased year-on-year across the group, while productivity improvement initiatives also contributed to stronger profitability.
Revenue increased 14.9% year-on-year to ¥361.8bn ($2.2bn), while core operating income rose 19.9% to ¥54.7bn ($334m). Operating income climbed 42.1% to ¥64.7bn ($395m), with net profit attributable to shareholders increasing 54% to ¥43.7bn ($267m).
In Japan, gas sales were supported by higher shipment volumes of electronic material gases and ongoing pricing measures, although weaker electronics-related equipment and installation activity weighed on segment income.
The US business delivered higher sales across both its gas and equipment operations, benefiting from stronger shipment volumes, pricing initiatives and productivity improvements. This also lifted profitability even excluding foreign exchange effects.
Earlier this week, Nippon Sanso Matheson announced a $5.4m office and production facility in San Antonio, Texas.
Europe also reported earnings growth despite lower gas shipment volumes, with price management, favourable exchange rates and contributions from the Spanish homecare business acquired last year helping offset softer demand.
The company’s European arm in Italy-based engineering company Hysytech earlier this month. Nippon Sanso told gasworld it expects to deploy Hysytech’s technology across its existing industrial gas and on-site solutions portfolio, where suitable.
The company’s medical-related business also recorded solid performance during the quarter.
In Asia and Oceania, higher electronic material gas volumes and contributions from industrial gas operations acquired in Oceania last year supported sales growth, while continued pricing discipline helped drive higher segment income.
Nippon Sanso left its full-year guidance unchanged, maintaining the outlook issued in May for revenue of ¥1.38 trillion ($8.4bn) and core operating income of ¥208bn ($1.3bn) for fiscal year 2027.
