This story appears in the June 2022 issue of Forbes Asia. Subscribe to Forbes Asia
This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Japan’s Richest 2022. See the full list here.
Thanks to the world’s insatiable appetite for computer chips, semiconductor-testing equipment maker Lasertec saw sales and orders continue to grow over the past year. The Tokyo-based company, which sells to some of the world’s biggest chipmakers, benefited from the remote work trend and the growing market for 5G smartphones and other devices. Despite the stock market meltdown, Lasertec’s shares declined less than 3% in the past year, outperforming the broader Nikkei 225 Index.
Still, it wasn’t enough to offset global headwinds. While consolidated net sales rose nearly 3% to ¥54 billion ($420 million) in the first nine months ended March 31, net income fell almost 4% to ¥13 billion (year-on-year) on the lingering impact of Covid-19, global supply chain issues and a semiconductor shortage. The wealth of the Uchiyama family, led by Yasuko Uchiyama, the widow of the company’s founder Yasushi Uchiyama, fell 12% to $1.8 billion since we last measured fortunes. Founder Uchiyama, who worked at Panasonic before starting out in 1960 making X-ray TV cameras for medical applications, died in 1992. His eldest son, Shu, is managing director and a member of the board of directors.
Buoyed by a recent jump in new equipment orders, the 62-year-old firm stuck to its full-year forecast of ¥83 billion in revenue and ¥21 billion in net profit, up 18% and 9%, respectively, from the previous year. Over two-thirds of its revenue comes from leading chipmakers such as Intel, Samsung and TSMC. In April, Lasertec raised its estimate for new equipment orders to ¥280 billion, up 40% from its January forecast.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jsimms/2022/05/31/lasertec-eyes-pandemic-bonanza-for-its-chip-testing-tech/