Before earnings disasters caused Hikari Tsushin Inc. shares to sink 99 percent in 2000, the firm's founder and chairman, Yasumitsu Shigeta, was once among the world's richest people. Almost two decades later some investors are looking again at the Japanese company, and recent market moves suggest they like what they see.
Shares of the office-equipment seller have jumped 24 percent this year to their highest value since 2000, outperforming the Topix stock index's 5 percent gain. Three of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg have a buy recommendation on the equity. In the bond market, Hikari Tsushin sold its longest-ever notes this month, and the issuance amount was increased due to strong investor demand.
Shigeta's company has come a long way. A darling of the stock market in the 1990s, Hikari Tsushin was considered one of Japan's promising new firms along with peers such as SoftBank, until it faced a crisis in 2000: Its stock sank as its mobile phone sales business unexpectedly lost money. Now the market is bullish once again toward the seller of everything from copiers to office water servers to mobiles, as equity investors cheer its rising profits and regular shareholder payouts while bond buyers appreciate the extra yields on its notes.