Polyplastics Co., Ltd Overview
Polyplastics is one of the world's most specialised engineering-thermoplastics franchises. For six decades it has been the vehicle through which Daicel competes in high-reliability resins. Its portfolio centres on DURACON polyacetal (POM), LAPEROS liquid crystal polymer (LCP) and TOPAS cyclic olefin copolymer (COC). In company literature it claims the leading global market share in all three. DURANEX PBT, DURAFIDE PPS, PET, long-fibre thermoplastics, fine powders and newer polyetherketone grades complement them. Its moat is application engineering: a global network of Technical Solution Centers co-designs parts with automotive, electronics and medical customers, which makes its resins hard to displace once specified. Since April 2026 the business has been folded into Daicel as the HPPs SBU, Daicel's largest unit by revenue. Its near-term story pairs AI-server-driven LCP demand and Chinese POM capacity growth against a costly, impaired German COC expansion.
What the business does
Polyplastics develops, polymerises, compounds and sells engineering thermoplastics. These are resins that sit between commodity plastics and super-engineering polymers on performance and price. Its products substitute for metal and for lower-grade plastics in parts that need dimensional stability, wear and sliding resistance, heat resistance, chemical resistance, purity or optical clarity. Typical end parts include gears, fuel-system and pump components, seat-belt and door-lock mechanisms, electrical connectors, sockets, camera modules, server and high-speed connectors, IC trays and wafer carriers, pre-filled syringes and insulin pens, and food-contact and medical films.
Business model and revenue model
| Revenue type | Approx. share | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Product (resin and compound sales) | Substantially all | Segment description; no service revenue line reported |
| Service (technical support, recompounding) | — | Bundled |
| Subscription | — | — |
| Licensing / agency | Not separately disclosed (Mitsui marketing contract from 2026) | Mitsui Chemicals release 27 Oct 2025 |
Revenue is almost entirely product sales of resins and compounds. Most grades are formulated for specific applications, and pricing is negotiated per grade. Raw-material pass-through clauses are used where obtainable: Daicel cited price revisions in Q1 FY2027. The service elements are mostly bundled rather than separately monetised:
Technical service / CAE / mould-flow and design support: through Technical Solution Centers. Envalith's reading of the Daicel yuho cites five overseas TSCs.
DURACIRCLE: re-compounding service, launched 2023. It recycles customers' in-plant scrap back into usable compound.
Third-party marketing: Since 1 January 2026 the business markets Mitsui Chemicals' ARLEN (PA6T) and AURUM (thermoplastic polyimide). Mitsui keeps R&D, manufacturing and logistics. The economics are a consignment/agency arrangement, and the terms are not publicly disclosed.
Value-chain position
The business is integrated from monomer and polymer to compound. POM is polymerised at Fuji (Japan), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Kuantan (Malaysia) and Nantong (China). LCP is polymerised in Taiwan (new 5,000 t/y plant, Feb 2025) and Japan. COC is polymerised in Oberhausen (Germany), with Leuna under construction. Compounding is regionalised. Upstream, POM benefits from Daicel's methanol- and formaldehyde-adjacent acetyl chain, which Daicel cites as a reason for the 2026 integration with its Materials SBU. Downstream, the business sells to Tier-1/Tier-2 moulders and directly to OEMs.
Customer types and end-markets
Customers are injection moulders, Tier-1 automotive suppliers, electronics component makers (connector and module makers), medical-device and pharma packaging converters, and film producers. The company itself describes end-markets as mobility, electrical and electronics, consumer goods, healthcare and industrial (chemXplore; company boilerplate). Daicel's integrated reports describe the business as serving automotive and electronics primarily, with global technical support and rapid delivery.
Company's own description vs. independent characterisation
- Company description (paraphrased from boilerplate in releases, 2023–2025): a global leader in engineering thermoplastics with a portfolio of POM, PBT, PPS, LCP, PET, COC and LFT; the largest global share in POM, LCP and COC; and more than 60 years of experience backed by a global R&D, production and sales network.
Independent characterisation: Polyplastics is a mid-scale, application-engineering-led specialty resins producer. Group segment sales are roughly JPY 250 billion, or about USD 1.7 billion at JPY 150/USD. It is highly concentrated in POM by volume and differentiated in LCP and COC by margin. Profitability is cyclical with automotive builds and electronics inventory cycles: segment operating margin ranged from 7.5% to 10.9% over FY2022–FY2026. It is now carrying a stranded-asset problem in COC. Its biggest structural opportunity is LCP for high-speed data transmission in AI servers. The share claims for POM and LCP are plausible; for COC the company is the main merchant producer outside Japan's COP makers. None of the share claims could be independently verified from third-party market data in this research.
Strategy
Strategic framework (Daicel, applied to HPP)
| Target | Detail |
|---|---|
| EBITDA growth for HPP and Safety, FY2026–FY2028 | Cut from +50% to +30% |
| Capex in growth segments through 2030 | JPY 115 bn |
| Total capex / growth investment, 2026–2030 | JPY 300 bn, prioritising engineering plastics, safety, semiconductor materials and life sciences |
| Returns by FY2030 | ROE > 15%, ROIC > 10% |
| Shareholder returns | DOE raised from 4% to ≥ 5%; total payout ratio ≥ 60%; progressive dividend |
Long-term vision "DAICEL VISION 4.0": four focus markets: health; safety and security; convenience and comfort; environment. The plan runs in three phases: Operation-I (restructure the core, asset-light); Operation-II ("New Daicel": M&A and alliances, JV review, group reorganisation); Operation-III (a new corporate grouping that co-creates along value chains) (Daicel yuho, via EDINET DB).
Mid-term strategy "Accelerate 2025": (updated 2023). It originally targeted FY2025 net sales of JPY 660 billion and operating profit of JPY 82 billion (finboard summary). Actuals were JPY 586.5 billion and JPY 61.0 billion, both missed.
Updated strategy (22 May 2026, "Accelerate 2030" revision): ### Initiatives in the last 24 months (Oct 2024 – Oct 2026)
| Initiative | Date | Description / target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nantong POM Phase 1 | Nov 2024 | 90 kt/y replacement and expansion | Operating; full capacity expected by Mar 2026 |
| Nantong POM Phase 2 | FY2027 | +60 kt/y to 150 kt/y | Scheduled |
| Kaohsiung LCP plant | Feb 2025 | +5 kt/y LAPEROS | Operating; driving AI-server growth |
| Leuna COC second plant | Originally 2023; then Q2 2026; now early 2027 | 20–25 kt/y | Impaired JPY 32.4 bn; payback targeted by FY2033 |
| Sustainability strategy | K 2025 (Oct 2025) | Recycled content, mono-material packaging, recompounding | Ongoing |
| Integration into Daicel ("New Daicel") | 1 Apr 2026 | Share technical-service know-how, link with Safety and Materials SBUs, deploy talent, streamline corporate functions | Completed legally |
| Mitsui Chemicals marketing alliance | Effective 1 Jan 2026 | Portfolio broadening into PA6T and TPI | Active; contract transferred to Daicel 1 Apr 2026 |
| PCR-POM launch | Jul 2026 | 30% PCR grades | Launched |
| DURAST Powder (3D printing) | 2025–2026 | Additive-manufacturing materials | Early commercial |
| Daicel Production Innovation at Fuji | Post-2020 | Productivity and cost | Implemented |
| US tariff price increases | After Q3 FY2026 | Pass-through | Implemented (per Q1 FY2026 commentary) |
Guidance (Daicel FY2027, issued 12 May 2026, unchanged at Q1)
| Metric | FY2026 actual | FY2027 guidance | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales (JPY bn) | 579.6 | 595.0 | 2.7 |
| Operating income (JPY bn) | 42.1 | 42.5 | 1.0 |
| EBITDA (JPY bn) | 85.4 | 87.0 | 1.9 |
| Net income (JPY bn) | 10.2 | 32.0 | 214.3 |
| USD/JPY assumption | 151 | 150 | — |
HPP segment guidance is not separately stated in the materials retrieved. Daicel expects higher HPP volumes, with the recovery primarily from the absence of impairments.
Products & Services
All brands below are now Daicel trademarks, except TOPAS, which is held by TOPAS Advanced Polymers GmbH, and ARLEN/AURUM, which belong to Mitsui Chemicals. Launch years for most base brands are historical and were not individually verified. Pricing is not publicly disclosed for any grade; engineering resins are sold under negotiated contracts.
DURACON® POM (polyacetal / polyoxymethylene copolymer)
Description: the flagship and volume backbone. It is an acetal copolymer, originating from Celanese technology, with high stiffness and strength, fatigue resistance, low friction and wear, creep resistance and dimensional stability.
Key grades and families: standard, low-VOC (automotive interiors), sliding/tribological, tough (impact-modified), high-rigidity glass-filled, fuel-resistant and others.
2026 launch: four PCR-POM grades with 30% post-consumer recycled content in standard, low-VOC, sliding and tough variants. They were unveiled at CHINAPLAS (April 2026) and commercially launched on 22 July 2026. Key mechanical properties are reported as comparable to virgin grades under in-house test conditions.
Target customers: automotive (fuel-system parts, gears, door and seat mechanisms), consumer and appliances (gears, fasteners), industrial (conveyors, robotics). Example: adoption in CuboRex's crawler transport system (27 Mar 2026).
Capacity: Nantong Phase 1 at 90,000 t/y (Nov 2024), with Phase 2 adding 60,000 t/y in FY2027 to reach 150,000 t/y in China. Additional plants at Fuji (Japan), Kaohsiung (Taiwan) and Kuantan (Malaysia). Group POM capacity was about 290,000 t/y as of 2021 (Plasteurope), before Nantong's replacement and expansion.
LAPEROS® LCP (liquid crystal polymer)
Description: wholly aromatic polyester LCP with very high flow for thin-wall moulding, high heat resistance (reflow solder), low dielectric loss and dimensional precision.
Applications: fine-pitch connectors, sockets, camera-module parts, coil bobbins, high-speed transmission connectors for servers, and next-generation IC trays (showcased at CHINAPLAS 2026).
Demand driver: AI servers. LCP was named as a key driver of the 23.9% segment sales growth in Q1 FY2027.
Capacity: new 5,000 t/y polymerisation plant at Kaohsiung (Feb 2025), on top of existing Japanese capacity. Total LCP capacity is not disclosed.
TOPAS® COC (cyclic olefin copolymer)
| Source | Oberhausen capacity | Leuna capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Daicel slide | Existing plant: 10,000 t/y, running at 97% utilisation when the Leuna decision was made | — |
| Polimerica | About 30,000 t/y | 25,000 t/y, which would double the group's COC capacity |
| 2020 announcement | — | 20,000 t/y |
Description: amorphous, glass-clear, very high-purity copolymer of ethylene and norbornene. It has low moisture absorption, biocompatibility and high moisture barrier.
Applications: pre-filled syringes, vials, insulin-delivery wearables, diagnostics, optical parts, advanced wafer carriers (CHINAPLAS 2026), and food-contact films. In packaging it enables PE mono-material structures that are easier to recycle; the material has been certified as a recyclable polyolefin under an EU circular-economy initiative (TOPAS 2020 release).
Financials: COC sales of about JPY 15 billion in FY2025 (Daicel notice, 5 Feb 2026). TOPAS sales of about EUR 81.5 million in the 2024/25 fiscal year (Plasteurope). The difference likely reflects scope and FX; this is noted, not reconciled.
Capacity: The discrepancies are unreconciled. Leuna start-up has moved from mid-2023 to Q2 2026 and now to early 2027 (Q4 FY2027/3).
DURANEX® PBT (polybutylene terephthalate)
Description: crystalline polyester with good electrical insulation, heat resistance and moldability. Variants include glass-reinforced, flame-retardant, hydrolysis-resistant and laser-weldable grades.
Applications: automotive electrical connectors, sensor housings, ECU cases, xEV high-voltage components (CHINAPLAS 2026 "xEV zone"), and appliance parts.
DURAFIDE® PPS (polyphenylene sulfide)
Description: high-heat, chemically resistant, inherently flame-retardant polymer, mainly glass- and mineral-filled. Compounding capacity includes the Kuantan, Malaysia expansion (2017).
Applications: coolant and water pumps, thermal-management parts in EVs, electrical components, and sensors.
PET
Description: polyethylene terephthalate engineering compounds, listed in company boilerplate.
PLASTRON® LFT (long-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics)
Description: long-glass-fibre compounds for metal replacement in structural parts. Listed as "LFT" in company boilerplate.
DURAST® Powder (engineering-plastics fine powder)
Description: micronisation technology that converts high-performance resins into fine powders for 3D printing and powder sintering (product news, 6 May 2026). The US trademark DURAST was filed on 27 Jan 2025.
Polyetherketone (PEK) and SARPEK
Description: a high-temperature polyetherketone debuted by Polyplastics (Plasteurope headline, c. 2024). Daicel HPP USA lists PEK in its portfolio. The trademark SARPEK was filed in the US on 27 Jan 2025. That it is the PEK brand is a reasonable inference but is not confirmed by a company document retrieved here.
Third-party products marketed under contract (from 1 Jan 2026)
| Product | Polymer | Owner | Role of Daicel HPPs | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARLEN™ | High-heat polyamide PA6T | Mitsui Chemicals | Marketing, customer interface, new-customer development, technical support | Mitsui Chemicals release 27 Oct 2025 |
| AURUM™ | Thermoplastic polyimide (TPI), ultra-heat-resistant | Mitsui Chemicals | Same | Same |
Related JV product: PEEK (VESTAKEEP via Daicel-Evonik)
Daicel-Evonik Corporation (Shinjuku, Tokyo) was named Polyplastics-Evonik from April 2022 to March 2026. It markets Evonik-technology PEEK and related high-performance materials in Asia. It is a related affiliate, not a Polyplastics product line.
Services
Technical Solution Centers: global application-development, CAE and moulding-support network. Envalith reports five overseas TSCs; locations were not individually verified.
DURACIRCLE®: in-plant scrap re-compounding, since 2023.
Online material-selection tools and regulatory documentation: (Plastech directory).
New-material showcase at CHINAPLAS 2026
The stand featured low-dielectric, high-heat resins for high-speed data transmission (servers, connectors), semiconductor solutions (LCP IC trays, COC wafer carriers), and AURUM TPI and ARLEN PA6T introduced for the China market.
Financial Narrative
Scope: Polyplastics did not publish financial statements. Section 6A presents the audited segment proxy. Section 6B presents the listed parent, Daicel Corporation, which is the only entity with full statements and is the economic owner of 100% of the Polyplastics business. Readers should not attribute Daicel's balance sheet to Polyplastics.
6B. Daicel Corporation consolidated (parent; JGAAP)
Income statement
Sources: Envalith / stockanalysis.com from Daicel yuho. EBITDA margin calculated. Revenue CAGR FY2022–FY2026: 5.5% (calculated).
Per-share data (Daicel)
Cash flow (Daicel)
Ratios (Daicel)
FY2026 interest expense was JPY 3,198 M against operating income of JPY 42,070 M, implying interest coverage of about 13x (calculated). FY2025 net debt/EBITDA was about 0.5x (calculated, using the aggregator net-debt figure).
6C. Commentary on trends, inflections and drivers
-
Revenue. Group revenue rose from JPY 468 billion to JPY 587 billion between FY2022 and FY2025 on price inflation and the weak yen. It slipped 1.2% in FY2026 on yen appreciation (USD/JPY 151 vs 153), inventory adjustments in Materials and weaker COC. The Polyplastics proxy outgrew the group in FY2026 (+2.7% vs −1.2%) thanks to Nantong POM ramp-up and LCP.
-
Margins. Group operating margin compressed from 11.2% (FY2024) to 7.3% (FY2026). Engineering Plastics' margin fell from 10.9% to 7.5% over FY2025–FY2026. Daicel attributed this to yen strength, higher depreciation from new plants, tariffs and lower COC volumes.
-
Below the line. Two consecutive years of large impairments (FY2025 and FY2026) took net income down 79.4% to JPY 10.2 billion in FY2026. The JPY 32.4 billion Leuna impairment alone was larger than the segment's FY2026 operating profit.
-
Inflection. Q1 FY2027 shows a sharp operating recovery in HPP (+23.9% sales; 12.6% margin). Q1 group operating profit came in 116% above Daicel's internal plan. Management nonetheless kept full-year guidance unchanged (FY2027 OI of JPY 42.5 billion, +1.0%), signalling caution about H2.
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Cash flow. Group operating cash flow recovered strongly in FY2024–FY2025 as heavy capex for Nantong, Kaohsiung and Leuna peaked. Investing outflows should ease once Leuna and Nantong Phase 2 complete, which supports the raised shareholder-return targets.
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Revenue by Segment and Segment Margins & Growth (%)
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Segment net sales incl. inter-segment (JPY Mn) | 212,531 | 238,350 | 226,974 | 248,165 | 254,919 |
Segment operating income (JPY Mn) | 22,110 | 25,310 | 18,301 | 27,006 | 19,151 |
Segment operating margin (%) | 10.4 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 10.9 | 7.5 |
Segment sales YoY growth (%) | 0 | 12.1 | -4.8 | 9.3 | 2.7 |
Share of Daicel consolidated net sales (%) | 45.4 | 44.3 | 40.7 | 42.3 | 44.0 |
Revenue by Segment and Segment Margins & Growth (%) (Quarterly)
| Metric | Q1 FY2026 (Apr–Jun 2025) | Q1 FY2027 (Apr–Jun 2026) | YoY (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
Net sales (JPY Bn) | 51.8 | 64.2 | 23.9 |
Operating income (JPY Bn) | 6.7 | 8.1 | 20.9 |
Operating margin (%) | 12.9 | 12.6 | — |
Segment Revenue
| Item | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Net sales | JPY 114,227 M | FY2025 | Daicel split notice, 16 Oct 2025 |
Assets transferred to Daicel | JPY 93,950 M | Book value, estimate at notice | Same |
Liabilities transferred to Daicel | JPY 93,950 M | Same | Same |
Income Statement and Margin Analysis (%)
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue (JPY Mn) | 212,531 | 238,350 | 226,974 | 248,165 | 254,919 |
Operating income (JPY Mn) | 22,110 | 25,310 | 18,301 | 27,006 | 19,151 |
Operating margin (%) | 10.4 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 10.9 | 7.5 |
Item | Status | — | — | — | — |
Gross profit, EBITDA, pre-tax income, net income, EPS, DPS | Not publicly disclosed at the Polyplastics/segment level | — | — | — | — |
Revenue CAGR FY2022–FY2026 | 4.7% (calculated) | — | — | — | — |
Operating-income CAGR FY2022–FY2026 | −3.5% (calculated) | — | — | — | — |
FY2026 impairment charged against the segment's assets (extraordinary loss) | JPY 32,425 M (Daicel FY2026/3 results; Envalith) | — | — | — | — |
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View Subscription PlansIncome Statement and Margin Analysis (%) — Revenue
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue (JPY Mn) | 467,937 | 538,026 | 558,056 | 586,531 | 579,629 |
Gross profit (JPY Mn) | 138,607 | 145,811 | 159,280 | 164,746 | 146,288 |
Operating income (JPY Mn) | 50,697 | 47,508 | 62,393 | 61,011 | 42,069 |
EBITDA (JPY Mn) | 78,892 | 79,083 | 96,096 | 102,384 | 85,412 |
Ordinary income (JPY Mn) | 57,291 | 52,035 | 68,396 | 62,320 | 45,130 |
Pre-tax income (JPY Mn) | 46,283 | 54,967 | 76,032 | 65,499 | 26,169 |
Net income attributable to owners (JPY Mn) | 31,254 | 40,682 | 55,834 | 49,480 | 10,180 |
Gross margin (%) | 29.6 | 27.1 | 28.5 | 28.1 | 25.2 |
Operating margin (%) | 10.8 | 8.8 | 11.2 | 10.4 | 7.3 |
EBITDA margin (%) | 16.9 | 14.7 | 17.2 | 17.5 | 14.7 |
Net margin (%) | 6.7 | 7.6 | 10.0 | 8.4 | 1.8 |
Revenue YoY growth (%) | 18.9 | 15.0 | 3.7 | 5.1 | -1.2 |
Per-Share Data and Key Financials (JPY)
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
DPS (JPY) | 50 | 60 | 60 |
Item | Value / status | — | — |
EPS FY2026 (JPY) | 38.8 (Envalith) | — | — |
BPS FY2026 (JPY) | 1,392.4 | — | — |
DPS FY2027 forecast (JPY) | 70 (raised 22 May 2026) | — | — |
FY2024 DPS | Implied by "JPY 60, up JPY 10 YoY" for FY2025 (Q2 FY2025 summary) | — | — |
Financial Analysis
| Item | Value | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Total assets | JPY 813.83 bn | 31 Mar 2025 | Quartr Q1 FY2026 summary |
Total assets | JPY 839.85 bn | 30 Jun 2025 | Same |
Net assets | JPY 402.4 bn | 30 Jun 2024 | Q1 FY2025 summary |
Net assets | JPY 370.4 bn | 31 Mar 2026 | Q1 FY2027 summary |
Net assets | JPY 383.3 bn | 30 Jun 2026 | Same |
Equity ratio | 44.3% (Jun 2024); 38.6% (FY2023 per EDINET DB peer table); 42.5% (Jun 2026) | — | Various |
Net interest-bearing debt | About JPY 50 bn | FY2025 | dcf-model.com (aggregator) |
Cash Flow and Financial Ratios (x)
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Operating cash flow (JPY Bn) | 57.87 | 42.99 | 26.85 | 76.73 | 93.41 |
Item | Value | — | — | — | — |
FY2025 investing cash flow | JPY −47.9 bn | — | — | — | — |
FY2025 free cash flow | JPY 45.5 bn (company-defined; Q4 FY2025 summary) | — | — | — | — |
FY2026 buybacks | About 10.09 M shares, about JPY 13,753 M (Nov 2025–Mar 2026) | — | — | — | — |
FY2026 total shareholder return ratio | 288.6% | — | — | — | — |
Earlier buyback authorisation | JPY 15 bn (FY2025) | — | — | — | — |
Returns & Leverage Ratios (%)
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ROE (%) | 12.3 | 14.3 | 17.1 | 13.8 | 2.9 |
ROA (%) | 4.5 | 5.3 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 1.2 |
Data Point Details
| Data point | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Daicel group overseas sales ratio | 67.3% | FY2025 | Daicel corporate presentation |
COC (TOPAS) revenue | About JPY 15 bn (FY2025); about EUR 81.5 M (TOPAS 2024/25) | — | Daicel 5 Feb 2026; Plasteurope |
Region Overview
| Region | Assets | Evidence of trajectory |
|---|---|---|
China | POM (Nantong 90 kt → 150 kt), compounding, Shanghai sales | The largest capacity growth vector. Phase 1 expected at full capacity by March 2026; Phase 2 due FY2027. Chinese auto slowdown is hurting Daicel's Safety segment (Q1 FY2027) but not yet HPP |
Taiwan | POM, LCP (new 5 kt plant Feb 2025), compounding | AI-server LCP demand is the fastest-growing product–region combination (Q1 FY2027 commentary) |
Japan | Fuji: POM, compounding, R&D | Mature. Domestic auto demand was hit by certification misconduct in FY2025 |
ASEAN / Malaysia | Kuantan POM and PPS compounds (35 kt) | Export hub to Europe and North America (2016 release) |
Europe | TOPAS Oberhausen; Leuna under construction; Raunheim office | COC volume −4% in FY2026 vs a prior plan of +45%. The weakest region on the evidence available |
Americas | Daicel HPP USA (Farmington Hills, MI), ex-TAP USA Florence, KY | Exposed to US tariffs (FY2026 commentary). American TOPAS sales more than doubled after the 2005/2006 acquisition (TAP USA release; undated) |
Capital Markets
| Item | Value | Date / source |
|---|---|---|
Share price | JPY 1,472 | 24 Jul 2026 close (stockanalysis; Google Finance) |
52-week range | JPY 1,112 – 1,658 | Google Finance, Jul 2026 |
Market cap | JPY 372.7–377.0 bn | Envalith / Google Finance, mid-2026 |
Shares outstanding | 335.12 M | Google Finance |
P/E (trailing) | About 38x (on FY2026 EPS of JPY 38.8) | Google Finance |
P/E (forecast FY2027) | About 11–12x (aggregator values vary) | finboard |
P/B | 1.0–1.1x | Envalith |
EV/EBITDA | 7.1–7.4x | Envalith |
Dividend yield (forecast) | About 4.8% on JPY 70 | Envalith |
Credit rating | JCR Long-term Issuer Rating A+, Outlook Stable (affirmed 2022–2026) | JCR releases |
Moody's / S&P / Fitch | Not rated / not identified | — |
Per-Share Data
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Annual DPS (JPY) | 50 | 60 | 60 | 70 |
Analyst Conclusions
Guidance and consensus
Daicel guides FY2027 group sales of JPY 595.0 bn (+2.7%), operating income of JPY 42.5 bn (+1.0%) and net income of JPY 32.0 bn (+214%), unchanged after a strong Q1. HPP segment guidance is not disclosed. Daicel's revised plan targets +30% EBITDA growth for HPP and Safety combined over FY2026–FY2028, down from +50%.
Bull case
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AI-driven LCP. Q1 FY2027 HPP sales rose 23.9% and operating income 20.9%, with LCP for AI servers cited explicitly. New Taiwan capacity (5 kt) is already on stream.
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China POM scale. Phase 2 takes Nantong to 150 kt in FY2027 on a new, efficient asset, deepening cost leadership in the world's largest POM market.
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Clean-up done. With JPY 32.4 bn already written off, Leuna's remaining book value is lower. Any COC demand recovery (FY2027 plan +32%) flows through at higher returns, while integration lowers corporate overhead.
Bear case
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COC demand may not materialise. The FY2026 plan missed by about 49 percentage points (+45% planned vs −4% actual). Customers are wary of single-site supply, and further write-downs are possible.
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Margin structurally lower. The FY2026 segment margin of 7.5% is the five-year low. Yen strength, tariffs and Chinese competitors could keep margins below the 10–11% achieved in FY2023 and FY2025.
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Capital-allocation credibility. Two consecutive years of impairments, a cut growth target and a missed Accelerate 2025 (JPY 61 bn OI vs JPY 82 bn target) suggest the parent's strategic forecasting is unreliable.
Catalysts and monitorables (next 12 months)
| Date | Catalyst / monitorable |
|---|---|
| 6 Nov 2026 | Q2 FY2027 results: HPP margin sustainability; any guidance raise |
| FY2027 | Nantong Phase 2 start-up timing |
| Early 2027 | Leuna COC start-up and first-year utilisation |
| Ongoing | COC volume tracking vs the +32% plan |
| Ongoing | LCP order momentum with AI-server supply chains |
| Ongoing | Revenue contribution from the Mitsui ARLEN/AURUM alliance |
| Ongoing | USD/JPY vs the 150 assumption; US tariff developments |
| Ongoing | Integration milestones and any further subsidiary renaming or restructuring |
Analyst verdict
Polyplastics no longer exists as an operating company. Its legal shell is HPP Holdings Corporation, and its franchise now sits inside Daicel as the HPPs SBU. Investors cannot buy it separately. Any view on the business is therefore a view on Daicel's largest earnings engine, which generated about 44% of group revenue and JPY 19–27 billion of annual segment operating profit over the past three years.
The franchise is good: leading share claims in three specialty polymers, a technical-service moat that keeps resins specified in safety- and precision-critical parts, and new, well-located capacity in China and Taiwan. The newsflow in mid-2026 is encouraging. HPP sales rose almost a quarter in Q1 FY2027 on POM recovery and AI-server LCP, at a 12.6% margin, well above the FY2026 trough of 7.5%.
The stewardship record is weaker. The German COC expansion is the clearest example of over-optimistic demand planning: it is 3.5 years late, more expensive, and impaired by JPY 32.4 billion. Daicel's decision to cut its HPP/Safety EBITDA growth target from +50% to +30% shows that management agrees.
Netting these, the business looks like a cyclical specialty-resins franchise with a credible AI-linked growth leg and one damaged project. Daicel's valuation of about 1.0x book, about 7x EV/EBITDA and a near-5% yield already discounts much of the COC disappointment. The asymmetric upside lies in LCP and China POM. The main downside is a second COC write-down or a yen-plus-tariff squeeze on margins.
The key test over the next 12 months is whether HPP sustains double-digit margins through 2H FY2027 while Leuna starts without further cost overruns. If both hold, the integration thesis, and the FY2030 targets of 15% ROE and 10% ROIC, regain credibility. If either fails, the market will keep treating Daicel's plastics franchise as a value trap.
SOURCES CONSULTED (principal)
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Daicel Corporation: company-split notice (16 Oct 2025); COC plan revision notice (5 Feb 2026); FY2026/3 results presentation (12 May 2026); Q1 FY2027/3 results presentation (31 Jul 2026); securities report data via EDINET DB, finboard.jp, Envalith, stockanalysis.com
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Celanese Corporation: Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1 (20 Jul 2020); ICIS (20 Jul 2020)
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Mitsui Chemicals / Polyplastics joint release (27 Oct 2025)
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TOPAS Advanced Polymers releases (3 Feb 2026; 5 Feb 2026)
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Daicel HPPs SBU release on PCR-POM (22 Jul 2026, PR Newswire / Kyodo JBN)
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Polymerupdate / Smart-Molding (Daicel-Evonik and HPP Holdings name changes, Jan–Feb 2026)
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Chemical Week (Dec 2024; Jan 2026); Plasteurope (2016, 2021, 2024, 2026); Polimerica (Jan 2026; 2026); SpecialChem (Oct 2025; Apr 2026); Plastics News (Jun 2025)
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FilingReader summaries of Daicel TSE disclosures (Oct 2025 – Jul 2026); Quartr; Gyokai Digest
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JCR rating releases for Daicel (2022–2026)
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Kyodo JBN (Jan 2016); Business Wire / PlasticsToday (Sep 2020); Toyo Engineering release
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Aggregators (CB Insights, chemXplore, Plastech, IntuitionLabs, dcf-model.com, TipRanks, Google Finance). These were used only where flagged; primary sources were preferred where they conflicted.
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View Subscription PlansExecutive Leadership
Executive Leadership Team
| Name | Title | Tenure / notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Takashi Miyamoto | President & CEO, Polyplastics Co., Ltd. (as of Oct 2025); now Managing Executive Officer, Daicel Corporation | Leadership of the HPPs SBU after April 2026 is inferred, not confirmed | Mitsui Chemicals release 27 Oct 2025; datainsightsmarket 2026 |
Noboru Goto | Former President, Polyplastics | Around 2009–2016 | dewiki; Kyodo 2016 |
Lindsey Deal | Former President, Polyplastics USA | At the time of the TAP USA merger | Trade press |
Timothy Kneale | Former President, TAP USA | Same | Same |
Gregor Bommel | Managing Director, TOPAS Advanced Polymers GmbH | Cited at K 2025 | Plasteurope 2026 |
Executive Leadership Team — Yasuhiro Sakaki
| Name | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Yasuhiro Sakaki | President & CEO | President since 2024 (the-shashi) |
Yoshimi Ogawa | Former President & CEO | Joined 1983; President from 2018 (the-shashi) or 2019 (GlobalData); discrepancy |
Kotaro Sugimoto | Director; Senior Managing Executive Officer; Head, Corporate Support HQ | datainsightsmarket |
Dieter Heckmann | Managing Executive Officer | datainsightsmarket |
Naotaka Kawaguchi | Managing Executive Officer | Same |
Ikuo Takahashi | Executive Officer; GM Innovation Park; Head, Corporate Research Center | Same |
Hiroyasu Yamaguchi | Executive Officer; Head, Engineering Center | Same |
Competitive Landscape
Competitors by Segment
| Product | Key competitors (brand) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
POM | Celanese (Hostaform/Celcon); Asahi Kasei (Tenac); Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics / Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (Iupital); Korea Engineering Plastics (Kepital); BASF (Ultraform); Delrin (acetal homopolymer, formerly DuPont); Chinese producers (e.g. Yuntianhua) | Celanese stated in 2020 that it competes with Polyplastics in overlapping lines. Chinese capacity growth pressures commodity POM grades |
LCP | Celanese (Vectra/Zenite); Sumitomo Chemical (Sumikasuper); Ueno Fine Chemicals; Syensqo (Xydar); Toray; Chinese entrants (e.g. Kingfa, Wotlon) | AI and high-speed connector demand is the battleground |
COC / COP | Zeon (Zeonex/Zeonor COP); Mitsui Chemicals (APEL COC); JSR (ARTON) | TOPAS is the main European merchant COC supplier |
PPS | Toray (Torelina); DIC; Celanese (Fortron); Syensqo (Ryton); Tosoh; Chinese producers | — |
PBT | BASF (Ultradur); Celanese; Toray (Toraycon); Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics (Novaduran); Chang Chun; Lanxess (divested to Envalior) | — |
Super-engineering (PEK/PEEK) | Victrex; Syensqo; Evonik (partner) | Polyplastics is an entrant |
Peer Comparison FY2026
| Company / unit | Latest FY revenue | Growth | Operating margin | R&D intensity | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Daicel HPP (ex-Polyplastics) | JPY 254.9 bn (FY2026) | +2.7% | 7.5% | Not disclosed (Daicel group 4.3%) | Daicel yuho |
Competitive Advantages & Vulnerabilities
| Advantages | Vulnerabilities |
|---|---|
Claimed #1 global share in POM, LCP and COC | Sub-scale vs Celanese and BASF in absolute revenue |
Deep application-engineering moat (TSC network) | Chinese POM and LCP capacity commoditising standard grades |
New low-cost China POM asset (150 kt by FY2027) | COC overcapacity risk from Leuna ahead of demand |
Backward link to Daicel's acetyl and methanol chain | Yen-denominated cost base exposed to FX swings |
Portfolio broadening via the Mitsui alliance | Auto-cycle and tariff exposure |
