Announcement of the Settlement of Accounts for the First Quarter of the Year Ending March 2009

(Note) Figures shown have been rounded down to the nearest million yen

Our settlement of accounts for the first quarter of the year ending March 2009 was announced on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 6 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange Press Clubs. An outline of the accounts is presented below.

Consolidated Results for the First Quarter of the Year Ending March 2009
(April 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008)

Amid the continuously challenging business environment, our group started the new medium-term business plan “Innovation and Action 2010” and conducted renovations of management structure through efforts such as the adoption of the company system. We also responded to the record-high increases in raw material prices through implementing price revisions domestically and internationally, as well as exerting more active efforts for cost reduction.
Consequently, for the first quarter of the year ending March 2009, we achieved net sales of 56,978 million yen (19.3% y-o-y increase), operating income of 2,534 million yen (86.3% y-o-y increase), ordinary income of 2,505 million yen (105.6% y-o-y increase), and net income of 1,859 million yen (166.2 y-o-y increase).

Overviews by division are as follows:

<Oils and Fats Processing Division>
Slight improvements seen in fats for frying, a contrasting result compared to the sharp decline recorded in the previous year, in addition to the relatively steady growth of specialty products such as hard butters for chocolate and functional oils contributed to gains in income in the domestic market.
Improvements in profitability seen in the refining segment in Asia and US in addition to continued excellent results achieved in the US and European markets from products such as hard butters for chocolate contributed to increase in profits, among other factors. Through these efforts, this division achieved a sales volume of 25,804 million yen (45.3% y-o-y increase) and an operating income of 1,704 million yen (213.3% y-o-y increase).

<Confectionery and Baking Ingredients Division>
Domestically, chocolates for industrial use, including chocolate for ice creams, enjoyed steady growth. Creams, margarines/shortenings, and fillings also experienced steady growth, driven by increased demands for the products following the shortage of dairy products and from the dessert market. Imported confectionary and baking ingredients, however, experienced a decline in net sales compared to the previous year.
Dessert products from our domestic group company achieved about the same figures in net sales compared to the previous year, but this was not enough to offset the highly volatile raw material prices and prevent the losses in profits.
Our group companies overseas for this division recorded an increase in sales, but high raw material prices dampened profitability.
Through these efforts, this division achieved a sales volume of 21,878 million yen (6.9% y-o-y increase) and an operating income of 1,004 million yen (a decrease of 0.6% y-o-y).

<Soy Protein Division>
Domestically, soy protein ingredients achieved improvements in both net sales and profits thanks to cost efficiencies and steady growth seen in products for fermentation and culture medium markets. Overseas, our group company in China in this division experienced declines in both sales volume and profits.
Profits for soy protein products dropped in spite of narrowing-down of the product mix and improvements on production efficiency.
Despite the efforts for cost reduction and market development, both the sales and profit for soy peptide fell short of the year-on-year figures.
Water-soluble soy polysaccharides recorded increases in both net sales and income due to the steady growth of acid lactic beverages.
Although its sales volume declined, soy milk improved profitability from cost reduction and pricing revision among other positive factors.
For mail orders of soybean-related products, cost-cutting efforts could not prevent the declines experienced in both net sales and profitability.
Through these efforts, this division recorded a sales volume of 9,295 million yen (a decrease of 2.4% y-o-y) and recorded an operating loss of 174 million yen (an operating loss of 194 million yen was recorded in the previous year).

Predictions for Consolidated Results for the Year Ending March 2009
(April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009)

*Explanation and other notes regarding appropriate utilization of the predictions
The first 2 quarters have been revised in the predictions for consolidated results announced in May 8, 2008.
The forecasts above have been made based on the information available at the time of this announcement, and the actual results may differ from these forecasts due to various factors.

End of report