Recently, Komatsu Corporation released its consolidated operating results for the fiscal year 2024 (April 1, 2024- March 31, 2025) under US accounting standards. Under the synergy of intelligent transformation and diversified business, the company achieved annual sales of 4104.4 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%, operating profit of 657.1 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%, and net profit attributable to the parent company of 439.6 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 11.7%. The performance highlights are diverse.
Steady improvement in core performance
Construction, Mining, and Public Equipment Business: Benefiting from the increasing demand for mining equipment, depreciation of the Japanese yen, and global sales price increases, which offset the negative impact of declining sales and rising costs, sales increased by 5.1% year-on-year to 3798.2 billion yen;
Retail finance business: Benefiting from the double increase in interest rates and asset size, sales exceeded 123.2 billion yen, an increase of 19.0%;
Industrial machinery and other businesses: The maintenance revenue of large press machines used in the automotive manufacturing industry and quasi molecular laser equipment in the semiconductor industry increased, driving a year-on-year increase of 14.3% in sales to 223.6 billion yen.
The business overview of each region is as follows
Japan: Despite the effectiveness of price optimization measures, sales in the Japanese market decreased by 3.1% compared to the same period last year due to a year-on-year decline in demand for construction machinery leasing.
Americas: Affected by the decline in new residential construction, the demand for general construction machinery in the leasing and energy sectors has decreased in North America. However, benefiting from the increase in sales of mining machinery and the exchange gain brought by the depreciation of the yen, sales achieved a year-on-year increase of 3.4%.Although Central and South America is facing a decline in demand for general construction machinery, sales have increased by 3.5% year-on-year due to the expansion of mining machinery sales, the depreciation effect of the Japanese yen, and the optimization of pricing strategies.
Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Due to the shrinking demand for general construction machinery in core markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, sales in the European market decreased by 1.4% compared to the same period last year. Although the CIS region has achieved growth in sales of mining machinery and components in Central Asia, sales have sharply decreased by 7.7% year-on-year due to supply chain disruptions and financial and economic sanctions caused by the situation in Ukraine.
China: Despite the continued stagnation of economic activity caused by factors such as the sluggish real estate market, sales increased by 14.2% year-on-year due to demand growth.
Asia and Oceania: With the stable demand from Indonesia, the largest market in Asia, and the favorable depreciation of the Japanese yen, sales increased by 14.1% year-on-year.Although the demand for general construction machinery in Oceania is weak, the growth in sales of mining machinery and exchange rate advantages have driven a significant year-on-year increase of 24.2% in sales.
Middle East and Africa: Due to the shrinking demand for general construction machinery in Saudi Arabia, sales in the Middle East decreased by 2.5% year-on-year.Although the sales of mining machinery in the African market have declined, thanks to the depreciation effect of the Japanese yen, sales have slightly increased by 0.7% year-on-year.
Evident achievements of intelligent strategy
Komatsu Intelligent Construction Solution,Smart Construction ®,as an important measure of DANTOTSU Value in the mid-term business plan, there are a total of 46364 construction sites which have been implemented globally as of March 2025; Meanwhile, in the field of mining machinery, a total of 862 automatic transport systems (AHS) have been deployed. These achievements continue to expand their application scenarios, helping to improve construction efficiency and safety.
In response to the Japanese market, Komatsu has implemented a comprehensive upgrade of its main earthmoving engineering model, the 20-ton hydraulic excavator, and launched the new generation of PC200i-12 hydraulic excavator with a 3D machine guidance system that combines standard configuration and Smart Construction. It was officially launched on the market in December last year.
At the bauma 2025 exhibition held in Germany in April 2025, Komatsu showcased its new generation hydraulic excavator PC220LCi-12 for the European market for the first time. Also showcased at the same time are the new generation of wheel loaders WA485-11/WA475-11 series with significantly improved fuel efficiency, five models of electric excavators, and charging and energy storage solutions adapted to diverse construction scenarios.
In addition, Komatsu and Aoki Asunaro Construction Co., Ltd. will jointly participate in the Japan International Expo (Osaka Kansai Expo) in April 2025 to showcase technology related to future underwater engineering.
Outlook for Fiscal Year 2025
Komatsu will launch a new three-year mid-term business plan (fiscal years 2025-2027) in April 2025, titled Driving Value with Ambition Value Creation Challenge. Based on the core value concept of "challenge spirit", Komatsu stated that he will work together with customers and all stakeholders to promote value innovation and fully achieve the overall growth goals of the group.
In this strategic upgrade, Komatsu has re-established its corporate vision: to become a solution partner that helps customers create safe, efficient, clean, and environmentally friendly work sites. To achieve this vision, three core strategic pillars are formulated:
① Realize value co-creation through technological innovation;
② Pursuing dual improvement of growth and profitability;
③ Promote comprehensive reform of the business system.
While adopting the reverse strategic planning method, actively seize the development opportunities brought by the transformation of decarbonized society and breakthroughs in digital technology, and continuously enhance the ability to resist uncertain factors such as geopolitical risks and international trade tariff policies.
Performance forecast for fiscal year 2025
Construction, mining, and public equipment business: Although expected sales growth and price optimization will have a positive impact, revenue is expected to decline year-on-year due to the appreciation of the yen and the impact of US tariff policies. Although the profit side continues to promote price improvement and cost reduction measures, it is expected that profits will narrow year-on-year due to exchange rate pressure and increased costs related to tariffs.
Retail finance department: Due to the appreciation of the Japanese yen, it is expected that both revenue and profit will decrease.
Industrial Machinery and Other Departments: Benefiting from the growing demand for large-scale stamping equipment in the automotive industry and the increased revenue from maintenance of quasi molecular laser equipment in the semiconductor industry, it is expected to achieve dual growth in revenue and profit.
Overall, the overall performance of the group in the fiscal year of March 2026 is expected to show a double decline in revenue and profit.