MEC (4971 JP) reported FY25 (Dec year-end) Q1~Q3 OP of ¥4,247mil (+16.4% YoY) on sales of ¥14,987mil (+9.5% YoY. Chemicals sales rose +11.6% YoY to ¥14,559mil while chemical sales volume also gained +10.9% YoY to 34,844ton. The gross profit margin [GPM] improved to 62.4% (+1.0ppt YoY), thanks to sales growth of MEC’s core product, CZ-8101. MEC revised up its FY25 full-year guidance from OP of ¥5,000mil (+9.6% YoY) on sales of ¥20,000mil (+9.7% YoY) to OP of ¥5,500mil (+20.5% YoY) on sales of ¥20,300mil (+11.3% YoY), thanks primarily to stronger than expected CZ-8101 sales, which also led to an improved sales mix. MEC’s principal shareholder returns were upgraded to dividend pay-out ratio of more than 35% AND DoE of more than 4.0%. Based on the new principle, the FY25 annual dividend will likely be ¥85.00/share, up from the previous forecast of ¥55.00/share.
