K Line to Continue Strengthening Shareholder Returns: Payout Ratio to Hit 75%　川崎汽船、株主還元強化を継続。配当性向７５％

K Line to Maintain Strong Shareholder Returns with 75% Payout Ratio, Offsetting Container and Car Carrier Downturns with Operating Cashflow

K Line has released its consolidated earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026. The company’s equity-method affiliate, Ocean Network Express (ONE), in which K Line holds a 31% stake, is expected to deliver equity-method investment profits of ¥53.5 billion, down sharply from ¥206.3 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2025. This decline is attributed to pressure from new vessel supply and the impact of a stronger yen. Moreover, factoring in U.S. tariff policies, K Line projects its final equity-method profit from ONE for the fiscal year ending March 2026 to fall further to ¥37 billion.

On the dividend front, the company plans to increase payouts. While K Line anticipates ¥1.5 trillion in operating cash flow over its current mid-term management plan, it has trimmed investment cash flow to ¥610 billion through asset sales, prompting the firm to raise total shareholder returns during the plan’s period from the initially announced ¥750 billion or more to over ¥800 billion. For the fiscal year ending March 2026, the company has also lifted its per-share dividend forecast by ¥20 from the initial announcement, bringing it to ¥120, raising the payout ratio to 75%.

(Text by Hirofumi Yamamoto)
※This article is based on the online briefing held by President Takenori Igarashi and provides an explanation of the meaning of the dividend payout ratio, along with an analysis of the relationship between operating cash flow, the profit and loss statement (P&L), and the balance sheet (BS). Furthermore, it examines issues unique to Japan’s shipping industry, such as the significant impact of equity-method investment profits from ONE, the port fee issues related to car carriers, and the effects of the strong yen. The article includes almost the full content of the briefing in both English and Japanese.

〆川崎汽船、株主還元強化を継続。連結配当性向７５％、コンテナ船、自動車船の悪化も営業ＣＦで補う。

　川崎汽船（K Line）は２０２６年３月期の連結業績予想を発表した。同社が31％出資する持ち分法適用会社「オーシャン・ネットワーク・エクスプレス（ONE）」から川崎汽船の営業外収益に取り込まれる持ち分法投資利益は、新造船の供給圧力や円高の影響で２５年３月期実績の２０６３億円から５３５億円に減少する見通し。同社は、さらに米国の関税政策を加味し２６年３月期のONEからの持ち分法適用利益を最終的に３７０億円と見込む。

　一方、配当政策については増配を実行する。中期経営期間中の営業キャッシュフロー１兆５０００億円に対し投資ＣＦは資産売却などで6,100億円に圧縮したことを勘案し、中計期間の株主還元は当初計画の７５００億円以上から８０００億円以上に増額する。２０２６年３月期も当初公表から１株当たり２０円増額し１２０円、配当性向は７５％に上昇する。

(Text by Hirofumi Yamamoto)

※本文では五十嵐武宣（Takenori Igarashi）社長のオンライン会見の内容を前提に、配当性向の意味について解説のほか、営業ＣＦとＰＬ、ＢＳとの関係について分析します。さらに、日本の海運業界の特有の問題として「ＯＮＥからの持ち分法投資利益の大きさ」、「自動車船への入港手数料問題」、「円高」―といった点についての影響を考察しています。会見の内容のほぼ全文を英語と日本語の両方で表記しています。