One of the few positive factors for the profits of the three passive component suppliers was strong demand for mainstay smartphones such as the iPhone, and a recovery in demand for components from Chinese smartphone manufacturers, which have completed inventory adjustments. On the other hand, demand for PCs and servers remains sluggish, and the slump in industrial sales is expected to continue. As a result, the impact on business differed slightly depending on each company's business portfolio. Murata Manufacturing 6981, which has a lot of exposure to the smartphone industry, revised its operating profit forecast from 220 billion yen to 270 billion yen, while TDK left it unchanged at 150 billion yen, and Kyocera lowered it from 147 yen to 120 billion yen. a billion. Demand for electronic components has bottomed out and is expected to improve gradually, but we are wary of suppliers' tendency to offer aggressive component prices to win more orders during the recovery period. . We believe Murata Manufacturing stock is undervalued, while TDK and Kyocera stock are fairly valued.
Murata Manufacturing's operating income for the September quarter was 88.9 billion yen, exceeding our forecast of 80 billion yen. Although inventory adjustments put pressure on profitability, the operating profit margin for the quarter improved significantly from 13.6% in the June quarter to 20.1%. This was primarily due to the Devices and Modules segment recovering from near break-even to 13.6% due to higher seasonality in iPhone demand and improved product mix due to recovery in RF filter sales from Chinese smartphone manufacturers. is. The company has raised its full-year operating profit forecast from 220 billion yen to 270 billion yen, which is in line with our forecast, based on strong first-half results and changes in foreign exchange assumptions. The new fair value estimate is 3,300 yen, reflecting the impact of the 3-for-1 stock split that took place in early October.
The author owns no shares in any securities mentioned in this article.
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