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. As a result, sales of alcoholic beverages amounted to ¥78,715 million (down 0.1% year on year). In this segment, operating income was ¥2,296 million (down 12.8% year on year).
Sales in the shochu category (within Japanese alcohol products) declined among store-brand products and our Big Man series of kou-type shochu. However, sales increased for kou-otsu blended shochu products in the SUGO-MUGI and SUGO-IMO series, as well as for Hakata no Hana, our otsu-type shochu series.
In chu-hi and other RTD products, sales rose year on year thanks to favorable performance of our NIPPON PREMIUM chu-hi series, which strictly uses ingredients of Japanese origin, the Chokkyu Shobu series and other ownbrand products. Performance was also favorable in the packer business, and store-brand products rallied in the second half. We strengthened our lineup in the NIPPON PREMIUM series by launching a limited-edition offering, Yamagata Prefecture La France.
In the sake category, performance was favorable for Fukutokucho Kome Dake no Sutto Nomete Yasashii Osake, Junmai Ginjoshu. However, sales of store-brand products were down, causing category sales to decline.
Sales in the category of brewing and industrial alcohol for sale declined.
In wine and spirits, sales were strong for 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). Sales also grew for WHISKY KOHKUN, a type of whisky that is ideal for mixing in highballs, and imported wines pushing up category sales.

(Enzymes and pharmaceuticals)
Sales in the enzymes and pharmaceuticals segment were ¥4,155 million (up 19.1% year on year), due to favorable overseas sales in the enzymes category and solid sales in the contract manufacturing business in Japan. Operating income came to ¥534 million (up 62.9% year on year).

(Real estate)
In the real estate segment, sales amounted to ¥1,144 million (down 7.0% year on year), and operating income was ¥604 million (down 2.3% year on year), reflecting the sale of real estate for sale in the previous year.

Note: On May 15, 2023, the Company sold some of its shares in SUNNY MAIZE CO., LTD., and that company, which had handled the starch for food processing business, became an equity-method affiliate. As a result, SUNNY MAIZE was excluded from the scope of consolidation. For this reason, the starch for food processing segment has been removed as a reportable segment from this fiscal year. Accordingly, the Company generated no sales or operating income in the starch for food processing business in fiscal 2024.