Three Paint Makers Raise Sales Forecasts, Two See Profit Decline
Three Major Paint Makers See Sales Growth in FY2026, While Operating Profits Decline at Two Firms Despite Strong China Auto Demand
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November 27, 2025 - Japan’s three major paint manufacturers—Nippon Paint Holdings, Kansai Paint, and Dai Nippon Toryo—have released consolidated earnings forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 2026 (with Nippon Paint Holdings reporting on a December 2025 fiscal year). All three companies expect higher sales, but two forecast declines in operating profit, reflecting sluggish market conditions in Europe and North America as well as weak domestic demand in Japan.
Despite these headwinds, demand from China’s automotive sector continues to provide a bright spot, with increasing adoption of Japanese paint products by Chinese automakers.
Nippon Paint Holdings continues to benefit from the performance of the U.S. chemical company it acquired in March, along with improvements in raw material costs, selling and administrative expenses, and the effects of price increases. In China, sales have been supported by higher automobile production and growing orders from local manufacturers.
Co-President Yuichiro Wakatsuki said the company is beginning to see signs that the U.S. market has bottomed out. “Although construction markets in both the U.S. and China remain weak, we have positioned ourselves to be among the first to benefit when recovery begins,” he noted. The company has kept its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending December 2025 unchanged and continues to aim for a record-high performance.
Kansai Paint also reported strong sales of automotive coatings for Chinese vehicles. President Kunishi Mohri explained that rising imports of Chinese electric vehicles into Southeast Asia during fiscal 2024 had weighed on the company, which has a strong presence among Japanese automakers. However, the situation is gradually improving as Kansai Paint’s products are increasingly adopted by Chinese automakers expanding operations in Thailand and Malaysia.
While recovery trends in Africa and Asia are supporting overall performance, Kansai Paint revised down its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026 to ¥51 billion, ¥3 billion lower than its May projection, due to continued weakness in Europe and North America. The company plans to undertake fundamental reforms to its profit structure in those regions.
Dai Nippon Toryo, meanwhile, benefited from the consolidation of Shinto Paint, but domestic sales stagnated following issues related to non-compliance with Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) and the suspension of its JIS mark display. As a result, the company lowered its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026 to ¥4.1 billion, down ¥900 million from its previous estimate.
President Takayuki Sato commented that current challenges, including quality-related issues, have made it difficult to achieve the numerical targets set out in the company’s medium-term management plan. However, the suspension of the JIS mark display was lifted on the 14th, and Dai Nippon Toryo now aims to stage a recovery by generating synergies with Shinto Paint.
Source: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
