SDS Biotech, the agrochemical subsidiary of Japanese company Idemitsu Kosan, recorded a 3.5% increase in sales to ¥12,928 million ($117.1 million at the current rate) in its fiscal year ended March 31st, 2018.
DS Biotech, the agrochemical subsidiary of Japanese company Idemitsu Kosan, recorded a 3.5% increase in sales to ¥12,928 million ($117.1 million at the current rate) in its fiscal year ended March 31st 2018. Operating income rose by 11.6% to ¥1,410 million ($12.8 million). The business recorded a net loss of ¥180 million ($1.6 million) compared with a loss of ¥768 million ($7 million) in fiscal 2017.
Fungicide sales fell by 3.1% to ¥5,018 million ($45.5 million). That was mainly due to sluggish sales of the fungicide, Daconil (chlorothalonil), and chlorothalonil technical for overseas markets due to a fire at the company’s Yokohama plant in February, SDS Biotech points out.
Paddy rice herbicide revenues rose by 9% to ¥4,169 million ($37.8 million). The growth was largely due to favorable shipments of technical material, mainly benzobicyclon, to the Japanese market. Sales of greenery-related products and upland herbicides grew by 6.1% to ¥2,392 million ($21.7 million). That was due to higher sales of karbutilate technical and formulations, full-scale sales of PoaCure (methiozolin) and initial shipments of amicarbazone technical.
Sales of the insecticide segment fell by 4.6% to ¥703 million ($6.4 million). There were sluggish shipments of Nemamort products despite favorable sales of the nematicide, DD (1,3-dichloropropene), for the Japanese market.
SDS Biotech has decided not to issue a financial forecast for fiscal 2019 due to the Yokohama plant fire. It is difficult to estimate the impact of the incident on earnings at this time, the company points out.
