Asahi Kasei Corp., a major chemical manufacturer, has revised down its earnings forecast for this fiscal year, predicting that the final profit and loss will turn from the previous profit forecast to a deficit of 105 billion yen.

This is the first full-year loss in 20 years, mainly due to the slump in the automotive battery business.

Asahi Kasei announced on the 8th that it will revise down its earnings forecast for the entire group for the current fiscal year, and the final profit and loss is expected to go from a profit of 70 billion yen to a loss of 105 billion yen.



It will be the first full-year loss in 20 years, and the loss is expected to be the largest ever.



The main reason for this is the sluggish sales of the US subsidiary acquired in 2015 in the business of materials called "separators" used in automotive batteries, etc., and recording an accounting loss.



In the future, the company plans to concentrate management resources on "separators" for EVs (electric vehicles), where demand is expected to expand, and strengthen competitiveness.