What was changed
Sojitz, born from the 2003 merger of Nichimen and Nissho Iwai, entered the 2010s with thin margins and low-return assets; FY2011 (ended March 2012) closed with a ¥1.0B loss attributable to owners.
President Yoji Sato's Medium-term Management Plan 2014 made stable earnings the goal: asset sales and compression accelerated, the infrastructure unit was restructured in April 2013, and resources were concentrated on priority businesses such as power, water and automotive.
The official FY2012 results filing showed profit attributable to owners of ¥13.4B with a ¥25B forecast for FY2013; the trajectory continued — ¥27.3B, ¥33.1B, ¥36.5B, ¥40.8B, ¥56.8B, ¥70.4B — to a record ¥82.3B in FY2021.
What it achieved
Profit attributable to owners swung from -¥1.0B (FY2011) to ¥13.4B (FY2012) with a ¥25B FY2013 forecast, then rose to records: ¥70.4B (FY2018) and ¥82.3B (FY2021).
Why it worked
Asset sales and compression cut balance-sheet risk.
Reorganized units improved the odds on project wins.
A stable-earnings target replaced growth-at-any-cost.
What can be applied
A trading house can turn itself around by selling low-margin assets, cutting risk and reorienting every division toward stable earnings — then letting the new base compound quietly.
Aftermath
Dividends rose with earnings, and by FY2021 the company that needed restructuring posted its best-ever profit — evidence that the 2012-13 decisions stuck for a decade.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The sources
- Summary of Consolidated Financial Results for the Year Ended March 31, 2013 (IFRS) s3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com
- Annual Report 2013: Machinery Division summary web.archive.org
- 双日はＰＢＲ０．６倍と割安、業績は急向上が見込める局面に到達 kabu-ir.com
- Sojitz Financial Results for the Year Ended March 31, 2022 post.tokyoipo.com