[Company analysis] Ube Industries, Ltd. (宇部興産)

 

「Ube Industries, Ltd. (宇部興産)」is a major Japanese general chemical company, and its name came from Ube area where is famous for mining industry. As for the business, basic chemical products is major product of this company and also they handles cement, coal, and machinery. In particular, they have the strongest lineup for ammonia-related products in Japan. The number of consolidated employees is about 10,799.

 

1. Company Profile

2. Summary and Features

3. Major Business

4. Financial Information

 

 

 

1. Company Profile

 

※Unit is JPY million, as of 2019

Company name	Ube Industries, Ltd.
Company name (Japanese)	宇部興産
Date of establishment	June 1897
Headquarters location	〒105-8449 東京都港区芝浦1-2-1　シーバンスN館
Capital	58,400
Consolidated sales	730,157
Consolidated operating profit	44,551
Consolidated total assets	740,286
Consolidated capital	354,552
Capital adequacy ratio	47.9%
Consolidated number of employees	10,799

 

 

 

2. Summary and Features

 
The "Ube" area where「Ube Industries, Ltd.」originated is famous for its mining industry. Since the founding of「Ube Industries」, they have contributed greatly to securing the SOC of local communities by implementing educational institutions, dams and waterworks, as well as its own businesses. Although classified by the securities code as a chemical company, Ube Industries has a wide range of businesses.

As a chemical company,「Ube Industries」handles ammonium sulfate produced from its own coal mine, as well as nylon resins, synthetic rubber, polyethylene, ABS resins, polyimides, battery materials, and ceramics. For Nylon 6 (PA6) and Polybutadiene, they have the largest share in Asia. It also supplies cement, concrete, limestone, magnesium hydroxide, and building materials, and has approximately 500 remicone factories throughout Japan.

Now, Their cement business has been transferred to「Ube Mitsubishi Cement(宇部三菱セメント)」, which was jointly established with「Mitsubishi Materials Corporation(三菱マテリアル)」, and it have secured the No. 2 market share in Japan. In the machinery business,「Ube Machinery(宇部機械)」, an affiliated company, manufactures industrial machinery such as injection molding machines, die casting machines and extruders, and also conducts bridge construction businesses. 

Besides,「Ube Industries」maintain coal business from its start. In anthracite market, 「Ube Industries」has the highest quality in Japan as a raw material and in the 1955s, they supplied half of the demand in the Japanese domestic market. After the demand for anthracite coal fell, they withdrew the business for a while, but in 1974 they decided to revive the coal business again. It is said that「Ube Industries」currently handles about 6 million tons of coal annually. Since 2004, they entered into the coal power generation business, and now they are supplying a total of 216,000KW of electricity to the Chugoku region of Japan.

Since Ube Industries' factories from various industries, such as coal and chemicals, are concentrated in the Ube area, they also conduct industrial tourism business. They have the largest coal storage base in Japan and has a dedicated port where large oil tankers are anchored, a dedicated toll road, and a limestone mine where large-scale open-pit mining is performed. They are all for industrial tourism.

 

 

 

3. Major Business

 

■ Chemical Division
Nylon resins and raw materials, industrial chemicals, synthetic rubber, polyimide, battery materials, ceramics, aerospace materials, etc.

■ Pharmaceutical Division
In-house drug discovery, drug substance / intermediate manufacturing

■ Construction Materials Division
Cement, ready-mixed concrete, resource recycling, limestone, etc.

■ Machinery Division
Injection molding machines, die casting machines, steel structures / bridges, etc.

■ Energy and Environment Division
Coal, wholesale electricity

 

 

 

4. Financial information

 

※Unit is JPY million

		2016	2017	2018
Consolidated sales		616,563	695,574	730,157
Consolidated operating profit		34,960	50,250	44,551
Consolidated total assets		709,379	743,129	740,286
Consolidated net assets		310,401	336,861	354,552
Breakdown of sales	Chemical Division	254,963	303,653	313,226
	Pharmaceutical Division	10,975	10,173	10,088
	Construction Materials Division	221,432	232,167	244,132
	Machinery Division	69,289	88,418	95,808
	Energy and Environment Division	49,477	57,636	63,433
	Others	10,427	3,527	3,470