Kyocera Corp Value Stock - Dividend - Research Selection

Kyocera Corporation is a joint stock corporation incorporated under the laws of Japan in 1959 with the name Kyoto Ceramic Kabushiki Kaisha. Its name was changed to Kyocera Kabushiki Kaisha (or Kyocera Corporation) in 1982. Our corporate headquarters is at 6 Takeda Tobadono-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto 612-8501, Japan. Our telephone number is +81-75-604-3500.

Our business originally consisted of the manufacture of ceramic parts for electronic equipment. In the 1960s, we expanded our business and technology horizontally into the design and production of fine ceramic parts, ceramic integrated circuit (IC) packages and electronic components. In the 1970s, we began to produce applied ceramic products, including cutting tools, ceramic parts for medical and dental uses, jewelry and solar energy products.

In the 1980s, we diversified into new strategic fields. In 1982, we merged with Cybernet Electronics Corporation, a telecommunications equipment manufacturer in which we had made an equity investment three years earlier. We also played a leading role in the establishment of DDI Corporation (currently KDDI Corporation), which has become one of Japan’s leading providers of telecommunications services. In 1989, we gained a presence in the electronic connector market through our acquisition of Elco International Corporation (later, the company changed its name to Kyocera Connector Products Corporation, which was subsequently merged with Kyocera through an absorption-type merger in April 2017).

In the 1990s, we strengthened our position as a globally integrated electronic components manufacturer through our acquisition of AVX Corporation, a maker of capacitors and other passive electronic components. In the middle of the 1990s, Kyocera developed two main business categories, the “Components Business,” in which Kyocera provides parts and devices such as fine ceramic parts, semiconductor parts, applied ceramic products and electronic components and devices to mainly electronic equipment manufacturers in information and communications fields, and the “Equipment Business,” in which Kyocera manufactures and sells telecommunications equipment such as mobile phones to telecommunication carriers and information equipment such as printers and multifunctional products to distributors or directly to customers.

Since 2000, we have further enhanced our position in telecommunications and information equipment market. In February 2000, we acquired the code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile phone handset business from Qualcomm Inc. In April 2000, we invested in Kyocera Mita Corporation (currently Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.), a manufacturer of copier machines and other document solutions equipment, and made it a wholly-owned subsidiary. In April 2002, we transferred Kyocera Corporation’s printer business to Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. to further enhance our information equipment business by pursuing group synergies.

With the aim of becoming a more global enterprise and enhancing our profitability, we have been expanding our production in China located in Shanghai and Dongguan since the middle of the 1990s. Kyocera also established a sales company, Kyocera (Tianjin) Sales & Trading Corporation (currently Kyocera (China) Sales and Trading Corporation), in January 2003 to cultivate the Chinese market through enhancing our marketing ability for both our products manufactured in China as well as our products imported into China. In addition, we established a subsidiary, Kyocera (Tianjin) Solar Energy Co., Ltd., to assemble solar modules, production of which commenced in May 2003, and to respond to market needs swiftly.

In August 2003, we made Kinseki, Limited (later, the company changed its name to Kyocera Crystal Device Corporation, which was subsequently merged with Kyocera through an absorption-type merger in April 2017), a major producer of artificial crystal related products, a wholly-owned subsidiary through a share exchange to strengthen our Electronic Device Group. We also established Kyocera SLC Technologies Corporation, a manufacturing and sales company of surface laminar circuitry, in order to expand organic material components business (later, the company changed its name to Kyocera Circuit Solutions, Inc., which was subsequently merged with Kyocera through an absorption-type merger in April 2016).

In September 2004, Kyocera Corporation and Kobe Steel, Ltd. established Japan Medical Materials Corporation (later, the company changed its name to Kyocera Medical Corporation, which was subsequently merged with Kyocera through an absorption-type merger in April 2017) and Kyocera Corporation transferred its medical materials business to Japan Medical Materials Corporation through corporate splits.

In April 2008, Kyocera acquired the mobile phone related business of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (currently Panasonic Corporation) to strengthen the Telecommunications Equipment Group.

For further enhancement of the Information Equipment Group, Kyocera made TA Triumph-Adler AG (currently TA Triumph-Adler GmbH, TA), a leading specialist in the information technology business and a distributor of printers and multifunctional products in Germany, a subsidiary through a voluntary public takeover offer in January 2009. In October 2010, Kyocera acquired all of the remaining shares of TA. As a result, TA became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyocera. In July 2011, we established a subsidiary, Kyocera Document Technology Vietnam Company Limited, to produce information equipment for expanding our production capacity and reducing manufacturing cost.

In July 2011, Kyocera acquired Unimerco Group A/S (currently Kyocera Unimerco A/S), a Danish-based industrial cutting tool manufacturing and sales company to broaden our product lines and markets.

In August 2011, Kyocera established Kyocera Vietnam Management Company Limited (currently Kyocera Vietnam Company Limited), a manufacturing subsidiary, in order to further reduce costs and to meet with growing component demand.

In February 2012, in order to expand its liquid crystal display business, Kyocera acquired Optrex Corporation (currently Kyocera Display Corporation), a specialized manufacturer of liquid crystal displays and related products.

In October 2013, Kyocera acquired NEC Toppan Circuit Solutions, Inc., a printed wiring board manufacturing company, and changed its name to Kyocera Circuit Solutions, Inc. in order to strengthen and expand its organic substrate business. In October 2014, Kyocera integrated Kyocera SLC Technologies Corporation and Kyocera Circuit Solutions, Inc., both of which engaged in organic substrate business, into Kyocera Circuit Solutions, Inc. In April 2016, we implemented an absorption-type merger of Kyocera Circuit Solutions, Inc. into Kyocera Corporation in order to enhance the development of new products and to expand its business further.

In September 2015, Kyocera acquired Nihon Inter Electronics Corporation (NIEC), a manufacturer of power semiconductors, in order to expand into a new business area with a combination of their respective products and made it a consolidated subsidiary. In order to further expand our power semiconductor business, we implemented an absorption-type merger of NIEC into Kyocera Corporation in August 2016.

In April 2017, we implemented separate absorption-type mergers with each of Kyocera Crystal Device Corporation, Kyocera Connector Products Corporation and Kyocera Medical Corporation, through which each company was merged into Kyocera Corporation, in order to expand the electronic devices business and the business in medical and health care through sharing each company’s respective management resources and maximizing synergy.

For a discussion of recent and current capital expenditures, please see Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” of this annual report on Form 20-F. We have had no recent significant divestitures nor are any significant divestitures currently being made.

Business Overview

Kyocera is engaged in numerous high-tech fields, from fine ceramic components to electronic devices, equipment, services and networks. Our manufacturing and distribution operations are conducted worldwide. As of March 31, 2017, we had 197 subsidiaries and 4 affiliates outside Japan and 22 subsidiaries and 7 affiliates in Japan. Our customers include individuals, corporations, governments and governmental agencies. For information on our sales by category of activity and information on our sales by geographic area and product segment, please see Item 5.A. “Operating Results” of this annual report on Form 20-F.

Operations

For fiscal 2017, Kyocera categorized its operations into six reporting segments: (1)Fine Ceramic Parts Group, (2)Semiconductor Parts Group, (3)Applied Ceramic Products Group, (4)Electronic Device Group, (5)Telecommunications Equipment Group and (6)Information Equipment Group. In addition, separate from its six reporting segments, Kyocera groups other businesses into “Others.”

Starting from fiscal 2018, Kyocera has changed the classification of its reporting segments to “Industrial & Automotive Components Group,” “Semiconductor Components Group,” “Electronic Devices Group,” “Communications Group,” “Document Solutions Group,” and “Life & Environment Group.” For detailed information on the new reporting segment classification, please refer to Note 20 in the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report on Form 20-F.

Our principal products and services offered in each reporting segment and others are shown below.

(1) Fine Ceramic Parts Group

Components for Semiconductor Processing Equipment and Flat Panel Display Manufacturing Equipment

Information and Telecommunication Components

General Industrial Machinery Components

LED Related Products

Automotive Components

Products in this reporting segment are widely used in the industrial machinery, information and communications equipment, automotive-related markets and various other industrial sectors. These products are made from a variety of ceramic materials, such as alumina as well as zirconia, utilizing their characteristics of heat, wear and corrosion resistance.

(2) Semiconductor Parts Group

Ceramic Packages

Organic Multilayer Substrates

Organic Multilayer Boards

Organic Packaging Materials

This reporting segment develops, manufactures and sells both inorganic (ceramic) and organic packages, organic multilayer boards and organic packaging materials for various electronic components and devices such as crystal components, SAW devices and CMOS/CCD sensors for communication infrastructures and for the automotive-related markets.

(3) Applied Ceramic Products Group

Solar Power Generating Systems, Battery Energy Storage Systems

Cutting Tools, Micro Drills

Medical Devices

Jewelry and Applied Ceramic Related Products

This reporting segment consists of four product lines through applying fine ceramic technologies: Solar Energy Products, Cutting Tools, Medical Devices, Jewelry and Applied Ceramic Related Products. Kyocera develops, manufactures and sells monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon solar modules and solar power generating system for commercial and residential uses, cutting tools used in metal processing in industrial manufacturing, medical devices including prosthetic joints and dental prosthetics, and recrystallized jewelry and applied ceramic related products such as kitchen accessories.

(4) Electronic Device Group

Capacitors

Connectors

Crystal Components

SAW Devices

Power Semiconductor Products

Printing Devices

Liquid Crystal Displays

This reporting segment develops, manufactures and sells a wide variety of electronic components and devices for diverse fields that include information and communications equipment, industrial equipment and automotive-related markets.

(5) Telecommunications Equipment Group

Smartphones, Mobile Phones

Communication Modules

This reporting segment develops, manufactures and sells smartphones and mobile phones embedded with our unique functions to telecommunications carriers mainly in Japan and North America as well as develops communication modules with expectations of growing demand in the IoT (Internet of Things) market.

(6) Information Equipment Group

Monochrome and Color Printers and Multifunctional Products

Document Solutions

Application Software

Supplies

This reporting segment supplies printers and multifunctional products (MFPs) that realize long life cycle and low running costs thanks to the use of our amorphous silicon photoreceptor drums. We are also rolling out document solutions worldwide that support the optimization of a customer’s document environment through the provision of application software enabling connection between a customer’s document management system and mobile terminals or cloud environments. We are also strengthening our ECM (Enterprise Contents Management) business that computerizes a company’s data so that it can be managed in a more comprehensive and efficient manner.

Others

Information Systems and Telecommunication Services

Engineering Business

Management Consulting Business

Realty Development Business

Sales and Distributions

Kyocera products are marketed worldwide by our sales personnel, as well as by sales companies within our group, and by independent distributors. We have regional sales and design application personnel in strategic locations to provide technical and sales support for customers and distributors. We believe that this combination of distribution channels leads to a high level of market penetration and efficient coverage of services for our customers.

Most sales in the Fine Ceramic Parts Group and the Semiconductor Parts Group are made directly to device, component and equipment manufacturers in Japan and overseas while the Electronic Device Group makes direct sales to the same kinds of manufacturers as these two businesses as well as through active use of distributors.

In the solar energy business in the Applied Ceramic Products Group, solar modules and solar power generating systems are sold to global users via direct sales, sales subsidiaries and other methods, including through distributors. In addition, Kyocera sells battery storage systems and energy management systems through distributors, franchise stores and home builders in Japan. Cutting tools are sold to users such as automobile parts manufacturers primarily through wholesale dealers and distributors. Jewelry and applied ceramic products such as ceramic knives are sold through direct retail shops and general retailers as well as the internet. In the medical and dental implant business, prosthetic joints, artificial bones and dental implants are sold to hospitals and dental clinics through distributors.

In the Telecommunications Equipment Group, we supply smartphones and mobile phones primarily to telecommunications carriers in the Japanese and overseas markets. Our key supply destinations include KDDI Corporation, Softbank Group Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile US, Inc., Sprint Corporation and AT&T Inc.

The Information Equipment Group provides Kyocera brand printers and MFPs that boast long life and produce minimal waste as well as application software that resolves customers’ management issues from directly controlled sales companies in 33 countries to more than 140 countries. We also provide document solutions globally through sales distributors. We primarily deal with major customers around the world by way of direct sales.