Japan’s Taiheiyo Cement Group has reported JPY57.42bn (US$390.2m) in net profits for FY24-25, a 32.7 per cent increase on the previous financial year, exceeding analyst forecasts. Projections for FY25-26 estimate profits will be in the region of JPY60bn, a 4.5 per cent increase but below the QUICK consensus of JPY67.28bn.
The company, which has the largest share of domestic shipments in Japan, says local demand has been sluggish due to a combination of factors, compounded by a chronic labour shortage, the spread of a two-day weekend system, rising construction costs and a shortage of lightweight aggregates.
However, projects such as the extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo, large-scale urban redevelopment projects and new construction of semiconductor-related factories have provided some consolation. In the west coast of the USA sales volume fell below the previous fiscal year due to a decrease in the number of housing starts and bad weather, although sales prices did increase.
Sales, operating profit and pretax profit for FY24-25 were JPY896.295bn, JPY7.75bn and JPY75.374bn (up 1.1, up 37.7 and up 26.7 per cent from the previous year), respectively.
Decarbonisation
Taiheiyo Cement has also announced that production and sales of Portland blastfurnace slag cement Type C, a low-carbon blended cement said to achieve a 65 per cent reduction in carbon footprint compared to Portland cement, will commence in September 2025. The new cement will form part of efforts to achieve carbon neutrality at the Kimitsu plant of Nippon Slag Products.
The company’s green credentials have been further boosted by the news that interlocking paver blocks using Taiheiyo’s CARBOFIX® cement, a CO2-absorbing/cured cementitious material, have been referenced in an official Japanese report to the United Nations detailing domestic CO2 absorptions. The report, which the Japanese government submits annually as part of its Paris Agreement obligations, notes 0.2t of CO2 uptake by the CARBOFIX blocks across a 25m2 construction area paved with 1344 blocks.
CARBOFIX blocks, which for this assessment were manufactured at the Saitama Plant of Taiheiyo Precast Concrete Industry Co, utilise forced carbonation curing, a process by which concrete absorbs CO2 and hardens during the reaction with CO2. CARBOFIX can also accept more recycled resources as raw materials, boosting the circular economy. The product was first launched in 2022.
