Sales to customers were roughly flat, a decrease of 0.1% year-on-year to
96,884 million yen.
Among the core eye care products, the new "V Rohto Premium,"
contact lens products and hay fever products sold well. Among skincare
products, although sales fell for the "Hada-Labo" series, which
continued to face increasingly fierce competition, the "DeOu"
men's deodorant brand sold strongly while the "Melano CC medicated
intensive spot correcting serum" and other products also performed
well, helped by demand from foreign visitors to Japan. Moreover, the launch
of internal medicines and food-related products, including the "Tsuraresu"
series, new from the Chinese herbal medicine brand "Wakansen",
that respond to women's troubles, also contributed to sales.
Segment profit (operating income) increased 4.7 % year-on-year to 10,040
million yen, due to an efficient use of other selling, general, and administrative
expenses, although up-front investments in new business fields, such as
research and development costs, increased.