# Ajinomoto Co., Inc.: business model and financials

> Latest period: FY ending Mar 2026, consolidated, IFRS
> Unit: JPY millions
> Sources: 有価証券報告書－第148期(2025/04/01－2026/03/31) (S100Y992)
> Page: https://vizora.meequs.com/en/company/ajinomoto
> Retrieved: 2026-09-30T21:38:36.529Z

## Company

Ajinomoto, founded in 1907, is a company in Pharmaceuticals listed on TSE Prime. It has 34,787 employees (consolidated).

| Field | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Legal name | Ajinomoto Co., Inc. |
| Ticker | 2802 |
| Stock price | View on Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.co.jp/quote/2802.T) |
| Listing | TSE Prime |
| Head office | 東京都中央区京橋一丁目15番1号 |
| Representative (per filing) | 代表執行役社長 中村 茂雄 |
| Founded | May 1907 |
| Share capital | ¥79.9B |
| Employees (consolidated) | 34,787 |
| Average salary (parent only) | ¥10.6M |
| Fiscal year end | March |
| Website | www.ajinomoto.co.jp (https://www.ajinomoto.co.jp/) |
| Corporate number | 8010001034740 |
| EDINET | E00436 |
| Industries (Vizora) | Pharmaceuticals, Semiconductor Materials, Processed Foods |

> Profile source: annual securities report (S100Y992, filed 2026-06-12). As of filing

## Five-axis industry profile

Primary industry: Processed Foods (2026-03-31)

| Axis | Industry percentile | Peers |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue growth | 79.5 | 56 |
| Profitability | 92.5 | 60 |
| Cash conversion | 50 | 57 |
| Efficiency | 30.8 | 60 |

Each axis is shown independently. Missing values are labeled unavailable; no combined score is calculated. Industry rank is not an investment recommendation.

## Key points (generated from figures)

- About 59% of Ajinomoto's sales come from Seasonings and Foods, with Healthcare and others and Frozen Foods making up much of the rest.
- Out of every ¥100 of sales, about ¥13 is left as operating profit.
- Revenue changed +3.5% from the prior year, operating profit +75.0%.

## Company structure

- Segment revenue mix: Seasonings and Foods 59.2%、Healthcare and others 21.6%、Frozen Foods 18.3%、Other 0.9%
- Revenue → net income: ¥1583719000000 → ¥145060000000
- Net income → operating cash flow: ¥145060000000 → ¥239351000000（difference ¥94291000000）
- Main uses of operating cash flow: CapEx ¥104550000000 / dividends ¥43159000000 / buybacks ¥130009000000
- Change in cash: ¥-58082000000
Segment shares use total reported segment revenue, which may include inter-segment sales. The cash bridge is operating cash flow minus net income and combines non-cash items and working-capital effects.

## Key figures at a glance

| Metric | Value | Note |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | ¥1.58T |  |
| Operating income | ¥199.4B | Margin 12.6% |
| Net income | ¥134.7B | Margin 8.5% |
| Free cash flow | ¥134.8B |  |
| Largest business | Seasonings and Foods | of segment revenue 59.2% |
| Employees (consolidated) | 34,787 |  |
| EPS | ¥138.36 |  |
| Diluted EPS | ¥138.36 |  |
| Book value per share | ¥346.29 |  |
| Equity ratio | 42.5% | Derived from disclosed figures |
| Shares outstanding | 977,735,616 |  |
| Treasury shares | 18,498,800 |  |
| Shareholders | 157,633 |  |
| Average salary (parent only) | ¥10.6M | Filing company only |
| Cash ratio | 5.9% | Cash ÷ revenue 6.7% |
| Vs. industry median margin | +8.6 pp | Processed Foods |
| ROE | 17.7% | Derived from disclosed figures |
| ROA | 7.6% | Derived from disclosed figures |

## Notable figures

- FY2026, buybacks were 3.0× dividends
- FY2026, employees 0% while operating income rose 75%

## What changed in 5 years

| Metric | FY ending Mar 2021 | FY ending Mar 2026 | Change |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | ¥1071453000000 | ¥1583719000000 | +47.8% |
| Operating income | ¥101121000000 | ¥199412000000 | +97.2% |
| Operating margin | 9.4% | 12.6% | +3.2 pp |
| Employees | 33,461 people | 34,787 people | +4.0% |
| Cash and equivalents | ¥181609000000 | ¥106693000000 | -41.3% |

### Change in segment revenue mix

Span: FY ending Mar 2021 → FY ending Mar 2026. Stable segment keys are connected; unmatched shares are marked as new or reorganized. Shares use total segment revenue.

| Flow | Revenue share |
| --- | ---: |
| 調味料・食品 → 調味料・食品 | 57.9% |
| 冷凍食品 → 冷凍食品 | 18.3% |
| 冷凍食品 → 事業再編・廃止 | 0.2% |
| ヘルスケア等 → ヘルスケア等 | 21.6% |
| ヘルスケア等 → 事業再編・廃止 | 0.8% |
| その他 → その他 | 0.9% |
| その他 → 事業再編・廃止 | 0.3% |
| 新設・再編 → 調味料・食品 | 1.2% |

Segment revenue source references: 8 (derived)

## Business growth × margin

X-axis: segment revenue CAGR. Y-axis: latest operating margin. Bubble size: latest revenue. CAGR requires at least two comparable years.

| Segment | CAGR span | Revenue CAGR | Latest revenue | Operating margin | Source refs |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Seasonings and Foods | 5 years | +8.6% | ¥936926000000 | — | 2 |
| Healthcare and others | 5 years | +7.4% | ¥341504000000 | — | 2 |
| Frozen Foods | 5 years | +7.9% | ¥290308000000 | — | 2 |
| Other | 5 years | +2.6% | ¥14979000000 | — | 2 |

## Income statement（FY ending Mar 2026, consolidated, IFRS）

| Item | Amount (JPY mn) | % of revenue | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | 1,583,719 | 100.0% | S100Y992 |
| Cost of revenue | 986,570 | 62.3% | S100Y992 |
| Gross profit | 597,148 | 37.7% | S100Y992 |
| Operating income | 199,412 | 12.6% | S100Y992 |
| Pretax income | 196,115 | 12.4% | S100Y992 |
| Income tax | 51,054 | 3.2% | S100Y992 |
| Net income | 145,060 | 9.2% | S100Y992 |
| Net income attributable to owners | 134,675 | 8.5% | S100Y992 |

## Per ¥100 of revenue（FY ending Mar 2026）

| Part | JPY |
| --- | ---: |
| Operating expenses | 87 |
| Operating income | 13 |
| (Ref.) Net income | 9 |

### Margin funnel

Gross margin 37.7% → Operating margin 12.6% → Net margin 8.5%
Derived from reported figures (DERIVED).

## Revenue and profit pattern

Pattern: Revenue and profit up
Revenue growth: +3.5%; Core profit growth: +75.0%
Growth quality: margin-expansion
Operating leverage (core profit growth ÷ revenue growth): 21.58×
Calculated from comparable annual consolidated filings.

## Year over year（FY ending Mar 2025 → FY ending Mar 2026、JPY mn）

| Metric | Prior | Current | Change | % change |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | 1,530,556 | 1,583,719 | 53,163 | +3.5% |
| Gross profit | 550,764 | 597,148 | 46,384 | +8.4% |
| Operating income | 113,968 | 199,412 | 85,444 | +75.0% |
| Net income attributable to owners | 70,272 | 134,675 | 64,403 | +91.6% |
| Operating cash flow | 209,898 | 239,351 | 29,453 | +14.0% |
| Free cash flow | 114,808 | 134,801 | 19,993 | +17.4% |

## History（JPY mn）

| Period | Revenue | Op. income | Op. margin | Net income | Op. CF | FCF | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| FY ending Mar 2017 | 1,091,195 | — | — | 53,065 | 108,907 | — | S100LN4K |
| FY ending Mar 2018 | 1,114,784 | — | — | 60,124 | 126,655 | — | S100QIMX |
| FY ending Mar 2019 | 1,114,308 | — | — | 29,698 | 123,256 | — | S100R42S |
| FY ending Mar 2020 | 1,100,039 | 48,773 | 4.4% | 18,837 | 114,856 | 32,815 | S100LN4K |
| FY ending Mar 2021 | 1,071,453 | 101,121 | 9.4% | 59,416 | 165,650 | 79,613 | S100QIMX |
| FY ending Mar 2022 | 1,149,370 | 124,572 | 10.8% | 75,725 | 145,576 | 64,857 | S100R42S |
| FY ending Mar 2023 | 1,359,115 | 148,928 | 11.0% | 94,065 | 117,640 | 44,594 | S100TNWR |
| FY ending Mar 2024 | 1,439,231 | 146,682 | 10.2% | 87,121 | 168,074 | 96,052 | S100VXJA |
| FY ending Mar 2025 | 1,530,556 | 113,968 | 7.4% | 70,272 | 209,898 | 114,808 | S100Y992 |
| FY ending Mar 2026 | 1,583,719 | 199,412 | 12.6% | 134,675 | 239,351 | 134,801 | S100Y992 |

## People and productivity（FY ending Mar 2026, consolidated, IFRS）

| Metric | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Revenue per employee (consolidated) | ¥45.5M |
| Operating income per employee (consolidated) | ¥5.7M |
| Net income per employee (consolidated) | ¥3.9M |

Employees, revenue and profit are consolidated. Average annual salary is a separate parent-company figure. Calculated from disclosed figures (DERIVED).

| History | FY ending Mar 2022 | FY ending Mar 2023 | FY ending Mar 2024 | FY ending Mar 2025 | FY ending Mar 2026 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Employees (consolidated) | 34,198 | 34,615 | 34,862 | 34,860 | 34,787 |
| Average salary (parent company) | ¥10.5M | ¥10.5M | ¥10.7M | ¥10.4M | ¥10.6M |
| Average age (parent company) | 44.4 years | 44.6 years | 44.5 years | 44.3 years | 43.5 years |
| Average tenure (parent company) | 20.2 years | 20.3 years | 19.9 years | 19.4 years | 18.9 years |

Year over year: Employees (consolidated) -0.2% · Revenue (consolidated) +3.5%

## Segments（FY ending Mar 2026, consolidated, IFRS、JPY mn）

| Segment | Revenue | Share | Op. income | Op. margin |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Seasonings and Foods | 936,926 | 59.2% | — | — |
| Frozen Foods | 290,308 | 18.3% | — | — |
| Healthcare and others | 341,504 | 21.6% | — | — |
| Other | 14,979 | 0.9% | — | — |

### segmentMix — Revenue and profit mix

Calculated from disclosed figures (DERIVED). Shares use total segment revenue and total positive segment profit respectively. Difference = profit share − revenue share (pt). Inter-segment sales may prevent reconciliation to company revenue.

| Segment | Revenue share |
| --- | ---: |
| Seasonings and Foods | 59.2% |
| Frozen Foods | 18.3% |
| Healthcare and others | 21.6% |
| Other | 0.9% |

Segment → industry: Healthcare and others → Pharmaceuticals / Healthcare and others → Semiconductor Materials / Frozen Foods → Processed Foods / Seasonings and Foods → Processed Foods

## Revenue by geography

No geographic revenue breakdown was disclosed.

## Cash flow（FY ending Mar 2026, consolidated, IFRS）

| Item | Amount (JPY mn) | % of revenue | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Operating cash flow | 239,351 | 15.1% | S100Y992 |
| Capital expenditure | 104,550 | 6.6% | S100Y992 |
| Free cash flow | 134,801 | 8.5% | 算出 |
| Investing cash flow | -84,229 | -5.3% | S100Y992 |
| Financing cash flow | -225,603 | -14.2% | S100Y992 |
| Dividends paid | 43,159 | 2.7% | S100Y992 |
| Share buyback | 130,009 | 8.2% | S100Y992 |
| Change in cash | -58,082 | -3.7% | S100Y992 |
| Cash and equivalents | 106,693 | 6.7% | S100Y992 |

## Balance sheet

Figures are as of each fiscal year end. Derived values are marked as such in the source column. Lease liabilities are excluded from interest-bearing debt.

| Metric | FY ending Mar 2022 | FY ending Mar 2023 | FY ending Mar 2024 | FY ending Mar 2025 | FY ending Mar 2026 | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Cash and equivalents | 151,454 | 132,777 | 171,537 | 164,776 | 106,693 | S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Total assets | 1,457,060 | 1,511,734 | 1,768,371 | 1,721,131 | 1,812,346 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Net assets | 739,744 | 822,968 | 884,448 | 813,273 | 844,275 | S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Share capital | 79,863 | 79,863 | 79,863 | 79,863 | 79,863 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 522,312 | 536,565 | 587,407 | 581,330 | 647,381 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Goodwill | 99,839 | 92,114 | 139,879 | 117,940 | 124,051 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Current assets | 581,419 | 615,537 | 709,632 | 701,298 | 704,170 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Total liabilities | 717,316 | 688,765 | 883,922 | 907,858 | 968,070 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Equity attributable to owners of parent | 686,909 | 768,676 | 815,074 | 746,804 | 770,819 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Retained earnings | 616,286 | 652,307 | 657,782 | 590,517 | 587,856 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |
| Treasury stock | -1,371 | -1,342 | -49,164 | -32,668 | -67,337 | S100R42S, S100TNWR, S100VXJA, S100Y992 |

### Assets and funding mix

| Assets | Share | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Cash | 6% | S100Y992 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 36% | S100Y992 |
| Intangibles and goodwill | 7% | — |
| Other assets | 51% | S100Y992 |

| Funding source | Share | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Other liabilities | 53% | S100Y992 |
| Equity | 47% | S100Y992 |
| Other liabilities | 0% | S100Y992 |

### Balance sheet history

| Metric | FY ending Mar 2022 | FY ending Mar 2023 | FY ending Mar 2024 | FY ending Mar 2025 | FY ending Mar 2026 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Total assets | 1,457,060 | 1,511,734 | 1,768,371 | 1,721,131 | 1,812,346 |
| Equity | 739,744 | 822,968 | 884,448 | 813,273 | 844,275 |
| Interest-bearing debt | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cash | 151,454 | 132,777 | 171,537 | 164,776 | 106,693 |

## Asset intensity and goodwill

Ratios are derived from reported values. Goodwill is used only when separately reported, never inferred from combined intangible assets.

| Metric | Value | Sources |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Asset intensity (fixed assets ÷ revenue) | 40.9% | S100Y992 |
| Fixed assets ÷ total assets | 35.7% | S100Y992 |
| Goodwill ÷ parent equity | 16.1% | S100Y992 |

Goodwill over 4 years: 99,839 → 124,051 JPY; total investing cash flow: -385,699 JPY. This does not imply causation.

### Cash quality

Net cash = cash − interest-bearing debt. Net debt ratio = (interest-bearing debt − cash) ÷ positive operating cash flow. Omit when debt components are incomplete; other ratios are derived from reported figures.

| Metric | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Cash ratio (cash ÷ total assets) | 5.9% |
| Cash ÷ revenue | 6.7% |
| Net cash (cash − interest-bearing debt) | — |
| Net debt ÷ operating cash flow | — |
| Cash conversion (operating CF ÷ operating income) | 120.0% |
| Cash vs. profit gap | 104,676 JPY mn (of net income 77.7%) |
| Shareholder returns / net income | 128.6% |
| Shareholder returns / FCF | 128.5% |
| Shareholder payments — dividends / net income | 32.0% |
| Shareholder payments — dividends / FCF | 32.0% |
| CapEx intensity (capex ÷ revenue) | 6.6% |
| Investing CF relative to operating CF | 35.2% |

## ROA and ROE

ROE is decomposed into net margin × asset turnover × financial leverage. Leverage can raise ROE, so the ratio alone does not assess a company's condition. Ending balances are used without a prior year; total equity approximates parent equity when unavailable.

| Period | Net margin | Asset turnover | ROA | Financial leverage | ROE | Sources |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 2022 | 6.6% | 0.79× | 5.2% | 2.12× | 11.0% | S100R42S |
| 2023 | 6.9% | 0.92× | 6.3% | 2.04× | 12.9% | S100TNWR |
| 2024 | 6.1% | 0.88× | 5.3% | 2.07× | 11.0% | S100VXJA |
| 2025 | 4.6% | 0.88× | 4.0% | 2.23× | 9.0% | S100Y992 |
| 2026 | 8.5% | 0.90× | 7.6% | 2.33× | 17.7% | S100Y992 |

## Ownership

| Counterparty | Relation | Ratio | As of |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 日本マスタートラスト信託銀行株式会社(信託口) | Major shareholder | 16.9% | 2026-03-31 |
| 株式会社日本カストディ銀行（信託口） | Major shareholder | 6.6% | 2026-03-31 |
| 日本生命保険相互会社 | Major shareholder | 5.4% | 2026-03-31 |
| THE CHASE MANHATTAN BANK,N.A. LONDONSECS LENDING OMNIBUS ACCOUNT (常任代理人 株式会社みずほ銀行決済営業部) | Major shareholder | 3.3% | 2026-03-31 |
| 第一生命保険株式会社 | Major shareholder | 2.7% | 2026-03-31 |
| STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY 505001 （常任代理人 株式会社みずほ銀行決済営業部） | Major shareholder | 2.6% | 2026-03-31 |
| 明治安田生命保険相互会社 | Major shareholder | 2.4% | 2026-03-31 |
| JP MORGAN CHASE BANK 385642 （常任代理人 株式会社みずほ銀行決済営業部） | Major shareholder | 2.0% | 2026-03-31 |
| JP MORGAN CHASE BANK 385781 (常任代理人 株式会社みずほ銀行決済営業部) | Major shareholder | 1.5% | 2026-03-31 |
| GOVERNMENT OF NORWAY （常任代理人 シティバンク、エヌ・エイ東京支店） | Major shareholder | 1.3% | 2026-03-31 |

## AI commentary（text by AI; the tables above are authoritative、claude-code）

- Revenue for the FY ending Mar 2026 was ¥1.58T, up +3.5% from ¥1.53T.
- Operating income climbed +75.0% from ¥114B to ¥199.4B, and net income attributable to owners rose +91.6% from ¥70.3B to ¥134.7B.
- Profit grew far faster than sales because a one-off gain from selling the head office property came on top of higher earnings from the business itself.
- Operating cash flow also improved, up +14.0% to ¥239.4B.

### Drivers

- The company sold the land and building of its head office and booked a gain on the sale
- In healthcare, electronic materials sold well, and both amino acids and contract biopharma manufacturing earned more
- Seasonings sold more in Japan and overseas, while frozen foods earned less because of weaker results in North America

### Risks

- Extreme weather and disasters could damage crops and livestock and push up raw material and shipping costs
- Rival technologies could replace its chip materials, cutting customer adoption and market share
- Geopolitical conflict and high tariffs could break supply chains and hurt price competitiveness

Cited: Annual Securities Report (148th term) (経営者による財政状態、経営成績及びキャッシュ・フローの状況の分析); Annual Securities Report (148th term) (事業等のリスク)

## Sources

| Document | ID | Published | URL |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 有価証券報告書－第148期(2025/04/01－2026/03/31) | S100Y992 | 2026-06-12 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100Y992,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第147期(2024/04/01－2025/03/31) | S100VXJA | 2025-06-18 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100VXJA,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第146期(2023/04/01－2024/03/31) | S100TNWR | 2024-06-25 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100TNWR,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第145期(2022/04/01－2023/03/31) | S100R42S | 2023-06-27 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100R42S,, |
| 訂正有価証券報告書－第144期(2021/04/01－2022/03/31) | S100QIMX | 2023-03-31 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100QIMX,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第143期(令和2年4月1日－令和3年3月31日) | S100LN4K | 2021-06-23 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100LN4K,, |

## Key alliances (from the filing's material contracts)

| Partner | Type | Description | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| J-オイルミルズ | Alliance | 食用油脂事業の業務提携（ブランド使用・販売ルート利用） | S100YFUT |

## Definitions

- Amounts are in millions of JPY (rounded). The period is stated in each table heading
- Operating margin = operating income ÷ revenue. Net income is attributable to owners of the parent when disclosed
- Free cash flow (FCF) = operating cash flow − capital expenditure
- ¥100 model = breakdown per ¥100 of revenue (rounded so parts sum to 100)
- Segment revenues include inter-segment sales and may not sum to consolidated revenue
- Source IDs are EDINET document IDs (docID). "算出" (derived) means computed from other disclosed values
- All figures are extracted mechanically from filings. AI-written text never generates figures
- Source: company filings submitted to EDINET (Financial Services Agency of Japan). Figures were extracted, edited and processed, and charts and text were created, by Vizora — not by the FSA (used under the Public Data License v1.0).