Fibers and Textiles segment sales drop at Toray

New Businesses and New Investments 

In June, the Company signed an offtake agreement for purchasing a certain amount of renewable bio-paraxylene (bioPX) produced at U.S. based Gevo, Inc.'s planned pilot plant. The agreement will enable the Company to carry out pilot-scale production of fully renewable, bio-based polyethylene terephthalate (fully bioPET), of its fibers and films for the first time in the world, and it plans to start offering  samples for market evaluation to its business partners, who are the end-users, in 2013. Due to exhaustion of oil resources and increase of oil price, producing PET from fully renewable feedstock has become a crucial challenge on a medium- to long-term basis. The Company will vigorously work to find a solution to this issue.  

Toray Industries Inc announced its consolidated business results for the three months ended June 30, 2012, the first quarter of the year ending #

 

While the global economy on the whole is expected to gradually head towards recovery led by growth in the U.S.  and emerging countries, uncertainties over European sovereign debt problems and the Chinese economy are likely to remain as factors for concern. Despite the end of eco-car subsidies, the Japanese economy is expected to track a moderate recovery path as the post-quake reconstruction demand gathers momentum along with improvements in overseas economies. Nevertheless, the outlook remains unclear. 

 

Under such circumstances, Toray Group will continue to focus on measures under the medium-term management program “Project AP-G 2013”. Under the program, Toray Group has been driving forward the growth strategy and strengthening its revenue base by pursuing the three group-wide projects of “Green Innovation Business Expansion (GR) Project” to contribute to solutions for global environmental issues as well as energy and resource issues, “Asia and Emerging Country Business Expansion (AE) Project” to expand its businesses in rapidly growing Asia and emerging countries elsewhere to leverage growth opportunities in these region and countries, and “Total Cost Reduction (TC-II) Project” to further reinforce the robust business footing. 

 

The Company kept its first-half and full-year consolidated forecasts announced on May 8 unchanged.  The calculation of Toray Group’s earnings forecasts from July onwards is based on an assumed foreign currency exchange rate of ¥79 to the U.S. dollar.