NSK: Announcement of Results for Third Quarter of Fiscal Year Ending March 2015

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NSK Ltd. (NSK)(TOKYO:6471) today announces its financial results for the third quarter of the year ending March 2015. The company achieved strong results for both sales and profit.

1. Business Overview

(1) Qualitative Information Regarding Consolidated Business Results
During the first nine months of the year ending March 31, 2015, sentiment in the Japanese economy showed signs of weakening due to continued stagnation in consumer spending following the consumption tax rise, among other factors. The U.S. economy continued to recover, backed by robust domestic demand. The European economy also showed signs of an upturn, primarily in the Eurozone, despite the impact of government debt problems and geopolitical risks. In Asia, the pace of economic growth in China slowed, while economic conditions in other Asian countries remained weak overall.

Summary
- Net sales: 711,903 million yen (+11.6% year-on-year)
- Consolidated and operating income: 67,021 million yen (+49.9% year-on-year)
- Ordinary income: 66,833 million yen (+48.8% year-on-year)
- Net income after adjusting for income taxes and minority interests: 43,725 million yen (+176.7% year-on-year)

2. Business Segment Information

(1) Industrial Machinery Business
Demand in the industrial machinery continued to gradually recover worldwide. Looking at results by region, sales in Japan increased, primarily in the machine tool and semiconductor sectors, driven by steady demand for smartphone-related machinery. Sales in the Americas grew, primarily in the general machinery sector. In Europe, sales increased due to steady demand in the wind turbine and machine tool sectors. In China, although demand in the construction machinery sector slowed, government stimulus policies drove strong demand in the railway and wind turbine sectors., Despite market stagnation, sales of industrial machinery bearings in the ASEAN region grew, primarily in the aftermarket sector.

-Net sales in the industrial machinery business: 202,889 million yen (+14.0% year-on-year)
-Operating income: 22,597 million yen (+45.8% year-on-year)

(2) Automotive Business
The global automotive market continued its gradual expansion, driven by the strong North American market, despite slower demand growth in China. Looking at results by geographic breakdown, the automotive market in Japan was slow to recover from the impact of the consumption tax rise, and sales declined as NSK shifted part of its production overseas in line with automakers' requirements for local procurement. In the Americas, sales increased due to strong market demand in North America in addition to the effect of production transfer from Japan. In Europe, continued recovery in the automotive market led to higher sales. In China, electric power steering system (EPS) sales rose significantly due to the intake of new orders, while sales of automotive bearings-primarily to European and Japanese automakers-were also strong despite slower market growth. In market conditions in other parts of Asia varied by country, sales to Japanese and Korean automakers rose.

- Net sales in the automotive business: 480,162 million yen (+11.0% year-on-year)
- Operating income totaled 46,906 million yen (+39.9% year-on-year)

There are no revisions to the forecast of consolidated results from the previous announcement.

For more details of the financial results, please visit NSK's web site at http://www.nsk.com/investors/

Safe harbor statement
This document is an English convenience translation of a document that was originally prepared in the Japanese language and is provided for convenience purposes only. NSK makes no representation or warranty that this document is a complete or accurate translation of the original Japanese text, and is not intended to be relied upon. In the event that there is a discrepancy between the Japanese and English versions, the Japanese version shall prevail. This document is not intended and should not be construed as an inducement to purchase or sell stock in NSK.