Kirin Holdings released its FY24 full year results on February 14.
Total revenue for the Japanese conglomerate was up 9.6 per cent from JPY2.13 tr (US$14bn) to JPY2.34 tr (US$15.4bn).
Total normalised operating profit also rose 4.7 per cent from JPY201.5bn (US$1.32bn) to JPY211bn (US$1.39bn).
However, profit attributable to owners of the company almost halved from JPY112.7bn (US$739.89m) to JPY58.2bn (US$382.19m) - down 48.3 per cent. Reasons include loss on step acquisitions resulting from the consolidation of FANCL which it acquired last September and structural reform of Kyowa Hakko Bio‘s amino acids business.
Best known for its alcoholic beverage business, Kirin has been stepping up on its non-alcoholic beverage and health science businesses in a bid to diversify its earnings. It also runs a pharmaceutical arm.
Its health science business, however, has been running on losses, albeit these have been cut down over the past year.
Specifically, normalised operating losses had reduced from JPY12.5bn (US$82.07m) to JPY10.9bn (US$71.56m) for its health science business.
On the other hand, revenue was up 69.6 per cent from JPY103.4bn (US$678.85m) to JPY175.3bn (US$1.15bn).
Blackmores was the largest contributor to Kirin’s health science business' revenue and profit.
Normalised operating profit (NOP) of the subsidiary acquired in 2023 was JPY6bn (US$39.39m) last year, while revenue was up 116.1 per cent from JPY32bn (US$210.09m) to JPY69.1bn (US$453.66m).
FANCL, on the other hand, brought in a revenue of JPY34.5bn (US$226.5m), and a normalised operating profit of JPY2bn (US$13.1m). There were no year-on-year comparisons as it was only acquired last September.
“[There was] increased NOP as a segment, due to consolidation of Blackmores' full year results and FANCL’s Q4 results,” said the company.
Despite the revenue and positive normalised operating profit from Blackmores and FANCL, Kirin’s health science business' profit was pulled down by ingredients arm Kyowa Hakko Bio.
Losses from Kyowa Hakko Bio went from JPY8.5bn (US$55.8m) to 14bn yen (US$91.91m) - mainly due to inventory write-down of approximately 5bn yen following the decision to sell its amino acid business.
Losses from its remaining health science business also increased from JPY3.6bn (US$23.66m) to JPY4.9bn (US$32.2m).
Kirin forecasts that normalised operating profit for its health science business for FY25 will increase by 14.6bn yen - with an increase of 7.3bn yen coming from FANCL, 0.2bn yen from Blackmores, and 7.5bn yen from Kyowa Hakko Bio.
“[We] aim to increase profit by consolidating FANCL for the full year, growing Blackmores and reducing Kyowa Hakko Bio’s loss,” said Kirin.
Total normalised operating profit is also forecasted to grow from 211bn yen in FY24 to 212bn yen in FY25, with health science and alcoholic beverage business driving growth.
Where and how did Blackmores grow?
The lion’s share of Blackmores in FY24 continued to come from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), followed by China, and South East Asia (SEA).
Revenue in ANZ climbed 4.3 per cent from AUD299m (US$190.17m) to AUD$312m (US$198.44m). This is forecasted to grow mid-single digit in percentage terms in FY25.
Kirin said that Blackmores' ANZ growth was led by new product innovation and appropriate value pricing. In particular, practitioner-only brand BioCeuticals “achieved strong growth through continuous educational activities and price revisions,” it said.
The plan for its ANZ business in FY25 is to achieve sustainable growth by “executing big new product launches” and improving shopping experience.
In China, Blackmores' revenue climbed 7.5 per cent from AUD182m (US$115.76m) to AUD195m (US$124.03m) despite headwinds arising from economic pressure. Revenue was up partly due to price revision.
The China business is forecasted to grow double digit in percentage terms in FY25 and the plan is to expand Blackmores into more channels through local and global innovation.
In SEA, Blackmores’ revenue rose 4.5 per cent from AUD169m (US$107.49m) to AUD176m (US$111.94m), with double-digit growth seen in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The SEA business is also expected to grow double digit in percentage terms.
This would be achieved by promoting initiatives tailored to each country’s market characteristics while defining focus areas.
The plan is also to increase the number of customers accessing Blackmores' services by expanding its sales channels and introducing new formulations.
FANCL
The FANCL business was largely concentrated in Japan and China in FY24.
In Japan, the supplements business had been affected by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical’s red yeast rice saga for the past year. However, regular customers have been making their return recently.
The plan for FY25 is to stimulate consumer demand through new products and promotions for both skincare and supplements.
In Japan, Kirin’s in-house supplement products sold under brands such as iMUSE had achieved single-digit percentage growth, due to expanding sales via e-commerce and mass retail channels.
“The supplement business will work to integrate its sales functions and lay the foundation for growth in both KIRIN and FANCL. The product portfolio will be restructured with a focus on LC-Plasma as a KIRIN brand,” said the company.
LC-plasma
Kirin’s proprietary ingredient LC-Plasma, a postbiotic also known as Lactococcus lactis strain Plasma, is another crucial part of its health science business.
According to Kirin, business related to the ingredient registered an increase of 10 per cent in sales between year 2023 and 2024, topping JPY23bn (US$151.17m)
A reason is due to the marketing of immune care as being important all year round, instead of paying attention to immune care only during winter months.
“Until now, Kirin Holdings has been focusing on ‘immune care’ initiatives centered around the winter season, when people are concerned about managing their health, but in 2024, Kirin Holdings became aware of growing health needs and implemented ‘immune care’ initiatives throughout the year.
“In spring, Kirin Holdings set up an ‘Immune Care Vending Machine’ for a limited time as an Immune Care' awareness event focusing on the temperature differences at the start of the season.
“And in summer, Kirin Holdings implemented a new ‘Immune Care’ project in collaboration with five cities with extreme heat as a health measure against the intense heat,” said the firm.
LC-Plasma has been shown to benefit the immune system by acting on plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs).
Another reason is that LC-PLasma has been sold to more partner companies that are using it in their functional foods. Examples include Wada Calcium Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. that launched tablets containing LC-Plasma for both bone density and immune care.
Takano Foods Co., Ltd also launched natto that contains LC-Plasma in the sauce, bringing the total number of companies selling functional foods containing the ingredient through partner companies to 10 companies and 18 products.
Overseas, Kirin’s in-house supplement and functional food brand iMUSE which similarly contains LC-Plasma as the main ingredient, has been made available in Vietnam in the form of functional beverages.
Supplements containing LC-Plasma are expected to launch in Taiwan by year end, while the launch in Australia, Thailand and Vietnam is expected to take place next year.