Japan semiconductor manufacturer Sanken Electric (TYO: 6707) announced on October 18, 2024, that it will close its Shika factory in Shika Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, by April 2026, following damage caused by the Noto Peninsula earthquake earlier this year. The Shika factory, part of subsidiary Ishikawa Sanken, serves as a key site for the power semiconductor post-production process. Despite resuming full production by March 2024 after recovery efforts, evaluations concluded that permanent operation of the facility would be unfeasible due to the extent of the damage.

The company plans to transfer the factory’s production to other Ishikawa Sanken facilities and both domestic and international sites. Some product lines from the Shika factory will be discontinued as part of a wider restructuring of the company’s production operations.

As a result of the closure, Sanken Electric expects to incur a special loss of approximately ¥1 billion in its second-quarter consolidated financial results for fiscal year 2025. Additional costs related to equipment transfers and decommissioning are expected to be recorded based on future developments. The company also plans to update its full-year forecast for fiscal year 2024 to reflect the closure’s impact.

The Shika factory had played a critical role in the assembly of components for household and automotive products. Other Ishikawa Sanken facilities, including the Horimatsu and Noto factories, which were also affected by the quake, have resumed normal operations and are not expected to close.

Sanken Electric aims to reorganize its production system for power semiconductor post-processing by redistributing the production volume from Shika to its remaining factories. The company also anticipates issuing revised performance forecasts during its next financial report for the April-September 2024 period.