ORGANIZATION
Hitachi, Ltd.
Japanese electrical and engineering group founded in 1910 by Namihei Odaira as a repair shop for mining machinery in Ibaraki Prefecture. Its first product was a 5-horsepower induction motor, and in the 1960s it moved into Shinkansen trains and computers. For the year ended March 2009 it posted a net loss of ¥787.3 billion, which AFP reported as the largest ever for a Japanese manufacturer. Hitachi then concentrated on a Social Innovation Business combining IT, operational technology and products; by fiscal 2022 it no longer had any listed subsidiaries, while it bought ABB's power grid business and GlobalLogic of the US. Lumada, the umbrella for its digital business launched in 2016, brought in ¥4,146.0 billion, 40% of revenues, in the year ended March 2026, when group revenues were ¥10,586.7 billion and net income attributable to Hitachi stockholders ¥802.3 billion.
Organization
- Founded
- 1910
- Status
- Active
- Active
- 1910–
- Appearances
- 02
- Name
- ENHitachi, Ltd.JA日立製作所
Hitachi, Ltd. traces its origins to a repair shop for mining machinery that Namihei Odaira started in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1910. According to the company's history, its first product was a 5-horsepower induction motor, and Odaira set out to build electrical machinery with Japanese technology at a time when Japan relied heavily on foreign products. In the 1960s Hitachi took part in developing and building the Shinkansen and entered the young computer industry, where, in its own description, it developed Japan's first domestically produced large-scale computer.
Hitachi and computers
In the areas closest to this site's subject, Hitachi's history highlights the large-scale and control computers of the 1960s.
| Year | Event (from Hitachi's history) |
|---|---|
| 1964 | The first Shinkansen cars completed |
| 1965 | The HITAC 5020 system completed |
| 1967 | The HITAC 7250 large electronic computer delivered to Yawata Iron & Steel's Sakai Works, making real-time plant control possible |
| 1968 | The HIDIC 100 control computer completed |
| 2016 | Lumada, the umbrella for its digital business, launched |
In optical disc standards, Hitachi appears in this site's DVD and Blu-ray Disc entries as one of the companies that jointly backed each format.
The loss of fiscal 2008
The starting point for Hitachi's change of shape was its results in the middle of the global financial crisis. The consolidated results for the year ended March 2009 (fiscal 2008, US GAAP), announced on 12 May 2009, were as follows.
| Item | Year ended March 2008 | Year ended March 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | ¥11,226.7 billion | ¥10,000.3 billion (down 11%) |
| Operating income | ¥345.5 billion | ¥127.1 billion (down 63%) |
| Net income (loss) | ¥58.1 billion loss | ¥787.3 billion loss |
AFP reported the loss as the largest ever suffered by a Japanese manufacturer. Looking back in a 2023 presentation on its mid-term management plan, Hitachi said that after the management crisis that followed the global financial crisis it decided to concentrate on its Social Innovation Business, and that it spent more than ten years transforming its business portfolio.
Reshaping the portfolio
The same presentation lists the main deals from fiscal 2013 to fiscal 2022, split into what Hitachi bought and what it let go.
| Main deals | Scale (approximate) | |
|---|---|---|
| Acquired | Ansaldo STS and Breda (rail), Sullair, JR Automation, Hitachi High-Tech, Chassis Brakes International, Keihin, Showa and Nissin Kogyo, Hitachi Energy (ABB's power grid business), GlobalLogic | Combined revenues of acquired assets about ¥3.1 trillion; acquisition amount about ¥3.6 trillion |
| Transferred | Air conditioning, thermal power generation systems and diagnostic imaging businesses; the listed subsidiaries Hitachi Koki, Hitachi Chemical, Hitachi Capital, Hitachi Maxell and Clarion; and in fiscal 2022 Hitachi Construction Machinery, Hitachi Metals and Hitachi Transport System | Combined revenues of transferred assets about ¥5.0 trillion; transferred amount about ¥2.0 trillion |
As a result, Hitachi had no listed subsidiaries left as of fiscal 2022 and had decided to deconsolidate its automotive components business, Hitachi Astemo. In the 2023 integrated report, the then CEO said overseas assets had reached 70% of total assets.
The largest IT deal was GlobalLogic. On 31 March 2021 Hitachi announced it would buy GlobalLogic, a digital engineering company headquartered in Silicon Valley, at an equity value of US$8.5 billion and an enterprise value of US$9.5 billion, with the total cost including repayment of debt expected at about US$9.6 billion. The aim was to expand Lumada's digital business globally, and the deal closed on 14 July. GlobalLogic then had more than 21,000 professionals in engineering centres and design studios around the world.
The weight of Lumada
Lumada is Hitachi's name for its digital solutions and services that turn data into insights to drive the digital transformation of social infrastructure. According to the results presentation for the year ended March 2026, Lumada revenues were ¥4,146.0 billion, 40% of the group total, with an adjusted EBITA margin of 16%. For the year ending March 2027 Hitachi expects ¥4,790.0 billion, or 44%.
Revenues by sector for the year ended March 2026:
| Sector | Revenues | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Systems & Services (DSS) | ¥2,940.0 billion | +4% |
| Energy | ¥3,219.9 billion | +23% |
| Mobility | ¥1,321.5 billion | +13% |
| Connective Industries (CI) | ¥3,262.7 billion | −1% |
According to the presentation, Energy grew on continued solid demand for transmission equipment, steady execution of a strong order backlog, and exchange-rate movements.
Key events
- 1910: Namihei Odaira founds a mining-machinery repair shop; the first product is a 5-horsepower induction motor.
- 1964: The first Shinkansen cars completed.
- 1965: The HITAC 5020 completed.
- May 2009: A net loss of ¥787.3 billion announced for the year ended March 2009.
- 2016: Lumada launched.
- July 2021: The GlobalLogic acquisition completed.
- Fiscal 2022: No listed subsidiaries remain.
Financial indicators
Year ended March 2026 (April 2025 to March 2026, IFRS), from the results announced on 27 April 2026.
- Revenues: ¥10,586.7 billion (up 8%)
- Adjusted operating income: ¥1,199.2 billion
- Adjusted EBITA: ¥1,311.4 billion (12.4% of revenues)
- Net income attributable to Hitachi, Ltd. stockholders: ¥802.3 billion
Revenues in the years ended March 2009 and March 2026 were both just over ¥10 trillion; the scale barely changed. What changed was the content. Between fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2022 Hitachi let go of businesses with about ¥5 trillion in revenues and bought about ¥3 trillion, and on roughly the same sales as the year it lost ¥787.3 billion it now earns ¥802.3 billion. The accounting standards and profit definitions differ, so the two figures are not strictly comparable, but the size of the reshaping shows in the mix rather than in the total.
Appearances
Questions this page answers
- How and when was Hitachi founded?
- Founder Namihei Odaira started it in 1910 as a repair shop for mining machinery in Ibaraki Prefecture. According to Hitachi's history, its first product was a 5-horsepower induction motor; the company says Odaira set out to build electrical machinery with Japanese technology at a time when Japan relied heavily on foreign products.
- What was Hitachi's 2009 record loss?
- For the year ended March 2009 (fiscal 2008), revenues fell 11% to ¥10,000.3 billion, operating income fell 63% to ¥127.1 billion, and Hitachi recorded a net loss of ¥787.3 billion. AFP reported it as the largest loss ever suffered by a Japanese manufacturer. Hitachi later said the management crisis after the global financial crisis led it to concentrate on its Social Innovation Business.
- What is Lumada?
- Lumada is Hitachi's name for its digital solutions and services that turn data into insights to drive the digital transformation of social infrastructure. It was launched in 2016. In the year ended March 2026, Lumada revenues were ¥4,146.0 billion, 40% of the group total, with an adjusted EBITA margin of 16%.
- Why did Hitachi buy GlobalLogic?
- Hitachi announced on 31 March 2021 that it would buy GlobalLogic, a US digital engineering company, saying it would expand Lumada's digital business globally. The total cost, including repayment of GlobalLogic's debt, was expected to be about US$9.6 billion, and the deal closed on 14 July 2021. GlobalLogic then had more than 21,000 professionals.
Sources
PrimaryHistory — Hitachi
Founded in 1910 as a mining-machinery repair shop in Ibaraki; founder Namihei Odaira; first product a 5-horsepower induction motor; Shinkansen and Japan's first domestically produced large-scale computer in the 1960s (the company's description); Lumada launched in 2016
PrimaryHistory (1961-1980) — Hitachi
The first Shinkansen cars in 1964, completion of the HITAC 5020 in 1965, and delivery of the HITAC 7250 to Yawata Iron & Steel's Sakai Works in 1967
PrimaryHitachi Announces Consolidated Financial Results for Fiscal 2008 — Hitachi, May 12, 2009
For the year ended March 2009: revenues ¥10,000.3 billion (down 11%), operating income ¥127.1 billion (down 63%), net loss ¥787.3 billion (US$8,034 million)
SecondaryHitachi Posts Biggest Loss for Japanese Manufacturer — IndustryWeek (AFP), May 12, 2009
AFP report describing the loss as the largest ever suffered by a Japanese manufacturer
PrimaryProgress of the Mid-term Management Plan 2024 — Keiji Kojima, Hitachi, April 27, 2023
Concentration on the Social Innovation Business after the management crisis following the global financial crisis, more than ten years of portfolio transformation, no listed subsidiaries as of FY2022, and the deconsolidation of Hitachi Astemo
PrimaryCEO Message — Hitachi Integrated Report 2023
Subsidiaries streamlined from over 20 to zero in fiscal 2022; acquisitions of ABB's power grid business and GlobalLogic; Hitachi High-Tech made wholly owned; overseas assets at 70% of total assets
Equity value US$8.5 billion, enterprise value US$9.5 billion, total acquisition cost including debt repayment expected at about US$9.6 billion; definition of Lumada
PrimaryHitachi Completes Acquisition of GlobalLogic — Hitachi, July 14, 2021
Acquisition completed on 14 July 2021; GlobalLogic had more than 21,000 professionals
PrimaryHitachi Announces Consolidated Financial Results for Fiscal 2025 — Hitachi, April 27, 2026
For the year ended March 2026: revenues ¥10,586.7 billion (up 8%), adjusted operating income ¥1,199.2 billion, adjusted EBITA ¥1,311.4 billion, net income attributable to Hitachi stockholders ¥802.3 billion
Revenues by sector (DSS, Energy, Mobility, Connective Industries); Lumada revenues of ¥4,146.0 billion, a 40% share and a 16% adjusted EBITA margin; FY2026 forecast
TertiaryHitachi — Wikipedia
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