DIC Corporation reported its financial results for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2024. In the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2024, DIC Corporation’s consolidated net sales increased 3.1%, to ¥1,071 billion ($6.94 billion). Operating income rose 148.1%, to ¥44.3 billion ($290 million).

“In the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2024, consolidated net sales increased 3.1%, to ¥1,071.1 billion,” DIC reported. “On a local currency basis, however, consolidated net sales edged down 0.1%. Looking at key global economies, the Americas and Europe saw changes in monetary policy in response to the easing of inflationary pressures, including decisions by central banks to reverse course and lower interest rates. In contrast, in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) the economic outlook remained unclear, owing to a persistently sluggish real estate market, waning domestic demand and other factors.

“Against this backdrop, demand trends in core customer industries varied,” DIC continued. “In the area of digital materials, used principally in electrical and electronics equipment and in displays, demand in the display market remained firm for the most part, mirroring display manufacturers’ production levels, and picked up in the semiconductor market, driven by growth sectors such as generative AI, although a full-scale revival in demand for general-purpose products remained elusive.

“In the Packaging & Graphic segment, shipments of jet inks and of packaging inks in overseas markets advanced, underpinned by firm demand,” the company added. “In the Color & Display segment, sales of high-value-added pigments for color filters were firm, while sales of pigments for coatings and for plastics rallied from the sharp declines seen in the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2023, thanks to ongoing moves by customers to replenish inventories.

“Operating income climbed 148.1%, to ¥44.5 billion. The Packaging & Graphic and Functional Products segments saw steep gains, buttressed by a revival in shipments of high-value-added products and an improved product mix, and by efforts to revise sales prices in response to specific regional and product characteristics,” the company concluded. “In addition, a recovery in shipments of pigments for coatings and for plastics combined with structural reforms aimed at, among others, optimizing production configurations—particularly in the United States and Europe—and efforts to lower costs to significantly reduce the loss in the Color & Display segment.”

Packaging & Graphic segment sales increased 5.1%, to ¥569.8 billion ($3.69 billion). Segment operating income increased 52.8%, to ¥33.6 billion ($220 million).

“Segment sales advanced 5.1%, to ¥569.8 billion,” DIC reported. “In the area of packaging inks, used chiefly on packaging for food products, shipments in Japan declined, as rising prices continued to dampen demand for consumer goods, but sales were buoyed by efforts to pass on elevated costs by adjusting sales prices, and by increased sales overseas, underpinned by a revival in demand for consumer goods in the Americas and Europe, as well as by efforts to cultivate customers in Asia, which boosted shipments.

“Despite expanded shipments in Asia, owing to the cultivation of customers and other factors, sales of publication inks, which center on inks for commercial printing and news inks, fell as dwindling demand pushed shipments down in Japan, as well as in the Americas and Europe,” DIC added. “Sales of jet inks, used in digital printing, climbed sharply as customers completed measures to resolve surplus inventories, spurring brisk demand and elevated shipments.”

Color & Display segment sales increased 13.1%, to ¥257 billion ($1.67 billion). The segment reported an operating loss of ¥0.3 billion ($19 million).

“While demand for pigments for coatings and for plastics failed to recover fully in Europe, a leading market for these products, reflecting a delayed economic revival, notably in Germany, shipments recovered following the completion of inventory adjustments by customers, thanks to ongoing moves to replenish inventories, particularly of pigments for use in building materials and for industrial,” DIC noted.