Japanese NAND Flash giant Kioxia is striving for a V-shaped recovery in its performance. According to a report from Japanese news outlet 47news, benefiting from the quick rebound in the semiconductor market, Kioxia’s revenue this fiscal year is reportedly set to reach an all-time high, with operating profit nearing a historic second-highest level.

It is reported that Kioxia’s revenue for the fiscal year 2024 (April 2024 – March 2025) is estimated to reach JPY 1.6 trillion, setting a new historical high.

This is expected to be accompanied by an operating profit of around JPY 300 billion. Kioxia’s strong performance this fiscal year is in contrast with the previous fiscal year (April 2023 – March 2024), which recorded a loss of JPY 252.7 billion, the largest in its history.

The report also suggests that Kioxia is forecasted to maintain similar strong performance in the next fiscal year 2025 (April 2025 – March 2026).

The company’s highest annual revenue record stands at JPY 1.5265 trillion for the fiscal year 2021, with a peak operating profit of JPY 456.8 billion in the fiscal year 2017.

Kioxia was formerly known as Toshiba Memory. It became an independent entity spun off from Toshiba in June 2018 and rebranded as Kioxia in October 2019.

Recently, Japanese news outlet Nikkei reported that Kioxia submitted its listing application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on August 23, with the goal of going public as soon as October.

Reportedly, Kioxia’s valuation is expected to exceed JPY 1.5 trillion (roughly USD 10.3 billion). The deal is anticipated to surpass the JPY 420 billion raised by chip equipment maker Kokusai Electric during its 2023 IPO, which was the largest of that year.

It is also expected to exceed the projected listing of Tokyo Metro in October, estimated at JPY 640 billion to 700 billion.

Read more

• [News] Kioxia’s IPO Paves the Way for SK Hynix to Secure Funds for HBM Investment
• [News] Kioxia Filed for Listing, Reportedly Marking Japan’s Largest IPO of the Year

(Photo credit: Kioxia)

According to data released by the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) on August 27th, Japan’s semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales continue to soar, with July sales up by about 20%, marking four consecutive months of double-digit growth. Sales from January to July reached a historic high for the period.

Reportedly, the sales of Japan-made chip equipment in July 2024 (based on a 3-month average basis, including exports) reached JPY 348.092 billion, a significant 23.6% increase compared to the same month last year.

This marks the seventh consecutive month of growth and the fourth consecutive month with over 10% growth. Monthly sales have surpassed JPY 300 billion for nine straight months.

Compared to the previous month (June 2024), sales increased by 1.2%, marking the eighth monthly growth in nine months.

From January to July 2024, Japan’s chip equipment sales totaled JPY 2.480115 trillion, a 16.7% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure surpasses the previous record of JPY 2.134268 trillion set in 2022, setting a new all-time high.

The upward trend is in accordance with the observation by Japan’s chip equipment giant Tokyo Electron (TEL) and the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI).

Tokyo Electron (TEL) announced in its August 8 financial report that due to strong investments in AI servers, the 2024 global wafer fab equipment (WFE) market size has been revised upward from the previous estimate of around USD 100 billion (up 5% year-on-year) to over USD 100 billion.

The Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) forecast report released on July 10 predicts that global chip equipment sales in 2024 are estimated to increase by 3.4% year-over-year to USD 109 billion, surpassing the USD 107.4 billion record set in 2022.

Read more

• [News] Booming GPU and HBM Demand Pushes Japanese Chip Equipment Annual Sales to Record High
• [News] Booming Sales of Japanese Semiconductor Equipment Continue to Break Records, Reportedly Surpassing JPY 300 Billion

(Photo credit: TEL)

The Japan Services Producer Price Index (SPPI) growth rate keeps above 2%  in July, as reported on August 27. According to the Bank of Japan, the SPPI increased by 2.8% year-on-year in July, slightly lower than the 3.1% recorded in the previous month, but the overall upward trend remains unchanged.

The primary driver of this increase was accommodation services, which experienced a year-on-year growth rate of 13.5%, contributing 1.35 percentage points to the overall SPPI increase. Other contributors included transportation, information and communications, and advertising services, which added 0.44, 0.33, and 0.24 percentage points, respectively.

Since early 2021, the SPPI year-on-year growth rate has been steadily rising, reflecting the ongoing increase in labor costs within Japan’s service sector. The Bank of Japan recently released two reports expressing concerns about wage growth and service inflation, leading the market to anticipate that the Bank of Japan may still implement another rate hike this year to curb the growth of service inflation.

Read more at Datatrack

The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) released the consumer price data on August 22, showing that the July CPI increased by 2.8% year-over-year, the same as the previous month, and slightly above market expectations by 0.1%.

This sustained growth was mainly due to a significant rise in electricity and gas prices, which drove energy prices up by 12.0% (compared to 7.7% the previous month). However, the year-over-year increase in fresh food prices fell to 4.2% (down from 8.2% the previous month), offsetting some of the overall increase.

The core CPI, which excludes fresh food, increased by 2.7% year-over-year, slightly higher than the previous month’s 2.6%, marking the 28th consecutive month above the Bank of Japan’s 2% inflation target. Further excluding energy, the double core CPI rose by 1.9%, down by 0.3% from the previous month, marking the first time it has fallen below 2% since September 2022.

At the end of July, the Bank of Japan unexpectedly raised interest rates by 15 basis points, causing significant market volatility. Subsequently, the Bank of Japan Governor stated that there would be no rate hikes during periods of market instability. However, according to the latest Shunto negotiations, Japanese wages saw the largest increase in 33 years (5.33%).

Simultaneously, on August 20, the Bank of Japan published two reports on the impact of demographic changes on wage structures and the impact of service inflation on overall CPI.

This appears to signal that the Bank of Japan may continue to raise rates in response to the persistence of service inflation. The market currently expects the Bank of Japan to maintain rates unchanged in September but anticipates another rate hike before the end of the year.

Read more at Datatrack

According to a report by the Nikkei, Japanese chip manufacturer Kioxia has submitted its initial public offering (IPO) application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, triggering a long-awaited move as the development of artificial intelligence (AI) drives a surge in semiconductor demand. The company aims to go public in October, the report notes.

According to a report by Nikkei, citing sources, Kioxia’s valuation is expected to exceed JPY 1.5 trillion (roughly USD 10.3 billion). The deal is anticipated to surpass the JPY 420 billion raised by chip equipment maker Kokusai Electric during its 2023 IPO, which was the largest of that year. It is also expected to exceed the projected listing of Tokyo Metro in October, estimated at JPY 640 billion to 700 billion.

This move comes at a time when the Japanese government is increasing its support for investment in the chip industry, aiming to secure the supply of critical components amid rising geopolitical tensions.

As per another report from Anue, Kioxia had once planned to conduct its IPO in 2020.

However, the plan was postponed due to the uncertainty in the global chip market caused by U.S.-China trade tensions and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, Kioxia’s target valuation exceeded 2 trillion yen, which was later reduced to 1.7 trillion yen.

Last year, Kioxia engaged in merger talks with Western Digital’s flash memory business, but the negotiations stalled due to opposition from Kioxia’s shareholder, SK hynix.

Read more

• [News] Kioxia Ends Production Cuts, Signaling Potential Downturn in NAND Flash Market?
• [News] Kioxia and Western Digital Restart Merger Plan, SK Hynix Reportedly Remains Opposition

(Photo credit: Kioxia)