Bridgestone no longer JSR’s largest shareholder

Tokyo – Bridgestone Corp. is no longer the largest shareholder in JSR Corp. following the sale of part of its shares over the recent months.

Bridgestone’s stake in the Japanese materials supplier stood at 220,335 units on 13 May, down from 223,661 units at the end of March.

As of 13 May, Bridgestone’s voting rights reduced to 9.999% of total voting rights from the previous 10.15%.

“As a result, Bridgestone Corp. ceased to be JSR’s largest major shareholder,” JSR said in a 13 May statement.

JSR added that the development would impact any of its operations or its relationship with Bridgestone.

Based in Tokyo, JSR manufactures petrochemical products, including elastomers and plastics, as well as fine chemicals.

The company’s elastomers business produces synthetic rubber, thermoplastic elastomers, performance chemicals and butadiene monomers.

JSR’s elastomer’s business registered sales of Yen200 billion (€1.6 billion) in the financial year ended 31 March, up 3% from the year before.

The segment’s operating profit, however, fell 50% year-on-year to 7.4 billion, due in part to higher selling expenses and ‘increased costs’ at the company’s Hungary plant.