TOKYO—Hoya Corp. (TOKYO:7741) Thursday reported that both fourth-quarter revenues and pre-tax profit increased. In the quarterly period ended March 31, revenues increased 3.8 percent to 126,304 million yen and pre-tax profit rose to 24,409 million yen (an increase of 5.4 percent). Hoya reported profit of 18,975 million yen for the quarter, representing an increase of 2.6% percent, according to a company statement.

Hoya said its “life care” business segment – which includes eyeglass lenses, contact lenses, and intraocular lenses (IOLs), among other products – achieved sales of 83,752 million yen in the fourth quarter, an increase of 3.5 percent. “Sales of eyeglass lenses rose, mainly in the Americas and Asia,” Hoya said in its announcement. “Sales of contact lenses were also higher, driven by ongoing new-store openings. … Sales of intraocular lenses were also strong, mainly due to growth in new products.”

In the life care segment, however, Hoya said fourth-quarter profit declined 9.7 percent to 12,348 million yen mainly due to business acquisitions and new factories. “We will continue to prioritize advance investment to secure higher growth,” Hiroshi Suzuki, chief executive officer, said of Hoya’s plans for this business segment. “In the meantime, we anticipate the information technology segment [to] maintain stable performance for a while, contributing to the group’s result.”

Regarding its life care business, Hoya also noted that a contraction in the Japanese spectacle lens market “resulted in sluggish growth,” but at the same time “our acquisition of the 3M prescription protective eyewear business in the Americas contributed to higher sales.” Hoya acquired the 3M safety eyewear business in December 2016, as VMail reported.

In addition, Hoya reported that “new-store openings of our Eyecity contact lens specialty stores [Eyecity operates primarily in Japan], as well as continued branding and promotions, resulted in higher year-on-year sales for contact lenses.” Sales of IOLs for cataracts “continued to perform well in the Japanese market, after being introduced last fiscal year. Overseas, as well, direct sales and sales through agents grew, outpacing performance for the same period in the prior fiscal year by a significant margin,” Hoya reported.

On a fiscal-year basis, Hoya reported that revenues totaled 478,927 million yen, a decline of 5.3 percent year on year. Pre-tax profit totaled 110,795 million yen and profit for the annual period was 86,852 million yen, which represented declines of 7.0 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively year on year. The life care segment recorded fiscal-year sales of 314,442 million yen, a decline of 2.6 percent from the prior year’s total.

Hoya also announced a year-end dividend forecast of 45 yen per share. Annual dividends, including the interim dividend of 30 yen per share, will amount to 75 yen per share, the company said.