August 3, 2023 /SemiMedia/ -- Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. announced its financial report for the second quarter of 2023 on July 31. Affected by the sluggish demand for smartphones, Murata's net profit in the second quarter decreased by 34% year-on-year to 50 billion yen, which was the fifth consecutive quarter of decline.

Murata's sales in the second quarter were 367.6 billion yen, a year-on-year decrease of 16%; operating profit was 50.1 billion yen, a decrease of 45%. Since Murata's smartphone components account for nearly 40% of the overall sales, market trends in the smartphone industry have a greater impact on it. The downturn in the Chinese market has affected Murata's second-quarter performance.

Murata believes that demand for smartphones tends to improve from July to September, as North American manufacturers start production. Murata said they are meeting directly with Chinese customers but have yet to feel the strength of the recovery in demand.

Murata predicts that in fiscal year 2023 (as of March 2024), global smartphone demand will still be 1.11 billion units, a slight increase year-on-year, and it will take a long time to return to the previous 1.4 billion units per year.

In terms of automotive business, Murata said that traditional cars use 3,000 multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) each, while pure electric vehicles that support autonomous driving will carry more than three times the number. Murata's goal is to expand the sales of automotive MLCCs, so that more than 30% of the company's sales will come from automotive products in the medium and long term.