Kurita Water Industries : Notice of Company Split (Simplified Absorption-Type Company Split / Short-Form Absorption-Type Company Split) with Wholly Owned Subsidiary

Kurita Water Industries Ltd. (Head office: Nakano-ku, Tokyo; President: Hirohiko Ejiri; hereinafter "Kurita") has discovered an inappropriate incident regarding its wholly owned subsidiary, Kurita Analysis Center Co., Ltd. (Head office: Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture; Representative Director: Ikuo Ishimaru; hereinafter "KBC"), that KBC had been issuing documents stating analysis results in its analytical services related to alkyl mercury^(*1) to customers without actually their analyses, during the period from June 1, 2023 to July 7, 2026 (hereinafter the "Incident"). We hereby provide a report on the current status of our investigation and response regarding this matter as follows.

We deeply apologize to our customers and all related parties for the grave trouble and anxiety caused by the Incident.

1．Background and Discovery of the Incident

On July 6, KBC received a report from internal sources that there was a suspicious aspect in the alkyl mercury analysis work being conducted at its head office. Therefore, they checked the analysis history stored in the analytical instrument the following day (July 7) and couldn't find the records showing that the analysis had been performed.

In response, KBC interviewed the relevant parties and determined that the analytical equipment malfunctioned in June 2023, that the incident was not properly reported within the organization, and that the required analyses were not performed after the malfunction.

2．Outline of the Incident

The Incident concerns alkyl mercury analysis, covering wastewater, soil, industrial waste, and fly ash, which is one of the analytical services conducted by KBC for purposes such as customer requests or use in the Kurita Group's sales activities.

Kurita and KBC have discovered that 3,806 samples received from 533 customers were not analyzed for alkyl mercury during the relevant period. We also confirmed that 2,373 of them were issued measurement certificates^{( *2)} without its analysis.

3．Actions taken for the Incident

KBC has reported the Incident to the Ibaraki Prefectural Metrology Institute on July 13.

Then, KBC suspended alkyl mercury analysis at its head office immediately after discovering the Incident, and , for the time being, the analysis will be outsourced to external analytical institutions.

In addition, for all analyses, except for alkyl mercury, conducted at the KBC head office, and for analyses conducted at other KBC offices, we have verified from the most recent records that the analyses were performed. We will also proceed with the investigation, including looking into past records.

4．Measures to address the Incident moving forward

For customers who have ordered the analysis regarding the Incident, we will promptly conduct further investigations, including detailed confirmations of the impact, such as the purpose and status of the analysis results and measurement certificates, providing explanations and taking actions tailored to each situation.

In addition, to prevent recurrence, we will thoroughly investigate and determine the facts and causes of the Incident, strengthening our compliance by reviewing our operational structure and other systems.

We will report on the concrete response policy and measures to prevent recurrence once decided.

5．Impact of the Incident on our consolidated financial forecasts

The impact of this Incident on our consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027 , is expected to be negligible. However, should any matter that arise requires disclosure, we will promptly make the necessary disclosure.

6．Inquiries from customers and other stakeholders

For inquiries from customers and other stakeholders regarding the Incident, we would like to ask you to contact us at the dedicated inquiry email address:[email protected] .

Notes)

• *1 : Alkyl mercury is a general term for organomercury compounds in which alkyl groups such as methyl groups are bonded to mercury, including methyl mercury and ethyl mercury, which caused Minamata disease. Their manufacture and use are strictly restricted, and it is a highly toxic substance that is easily absorbed into the body, accumulates in the brain, and damages the central nervous system. As a substance responsible for pollution, Japan's environmental standards and effluent standards under the Water Pollution Control Law stipulate that it must not be detected (less than 0.0005 mg/L).

• * 2 : An official certificate issued by a business establishment registered with the prefectural governor under the Measurement Act; only "registered businesses" that employ specialists with national qualifications, such as certified measurers, and that have passed rigorous inspections are authorized to issue such certificates.

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Please note that the contents of the news release are information as of the date of announcement and may be changed without notice.