Business Segment Info
Segment Performance
(Alcoholic beverages)
In the alcoholic beverages segment, competition is intensifying further because the population is shrinking, the birth rate is falling, the population is aging in Japan, the frequency of drinking outside the home is declining, and rising prices are driving a trend toward more frugal spending. In this environment, sales of alcoholic beverages amounted to ¥81,570 million (up 3.6% year on year). In this segment, operating income was ¥2,555 million (up 11.3% year on year).
Within the Japanese spirits segment, shochu sales increased, as the strong performance of the kou-otsu blended shochu series SUGO-MUGI and SUGO-IMO offset the discontinuation of the otsu-type shochu Kaito series and a decline in store-brand products in the otsu-type shochu category. In the same category, in September, the Group launched KOKOYOI, a new-genre otsu-type shochu that proposes "a new style of shochu," brewed using aroma hops, ale yeast, and multiple botanicals.
In chu-hi and other RTD products, sales increased due to strong performance of store-brand products and the packer business. In this category, we strengthened our lineup by launching products such as the RTD tea highballs Tancha Tantakatan Green Tea Highball and Tancha TAN TAKA TAN SHISO Umeshu Black Tea Highball, which offer a distinctive taste that highlights the aroma of red shiso from the shiso shochu Tantakatan series. In addition, we introduced the canned shochu highball KOKOYOI Highball, which makes it easy to enjoy KOKOYOI, an otsu-type shochu, mixed with carbonated water. We also actively carried out promotional activities leveraging social media, including prize campaigns and video distribution.
In the sake category, sales decreased, as a rise in store-brand products was more than offset by a decline in own-brand products.
In brewing and industrial alcohol for sale, sales grew, as strong performance in industrial-use alcohol offset a decline in alcohol for beverage production.
In the wine and spirits segment, sales increased, as strong performance in items such as chu-hi base spirits, which allow consumers to just add carbonated water to enjoy drinking at home while replicating the feeling of being in an izakaya (Japanese-style pub), and WHISKY KOH-KUN—a whisky ideal for highballs—offset declines in imported wines and alcohol for beverage production.
(Enzymes and pharmaceuticals)
Sales in the enzymes and pharmaceuticals segment were ¥4,644 million (up 11.8% year on year), supported by growth in the contract manufacturing business in Japan, as well as to favorable overseas sales in the enzymes category. Operating income came to ¥807 million (up 51.1% year on year).
(Real estate)
In the real estate segment, sales amounted to ¥1,322 million (up 15.6% year on year) due to factors such as rent revisions for leased properties. Operating income was ¥763 million (up 26.4% year on year).
