Restructuring with improved profit margins in the overseas business as the top priority

「Overseas, the company is further strengthening and expanding global account management through coordination among its domestic businesses and operations in each country. By steadily filling local positions at Japanese companies with strong hiring demand, it is accelerating business growth. During the interim consolidated accounting period, the overseas business outpaced the domestic employment placement business in both sales and profit growth.」

「Although challenging market conditions continued in the overseas business, particularly in Asia, the company continued efforts to improve profitability and achieve renewed growth by having executive officers work locally to develop the high-income segment among Japanese companies and by promoting global account management across the group.」

「Although challenging market conditions continue in the overseas business, particularly in Asia, the company is seeking to develop the recruitment market among local Japanese companies by dispatching an executive officer in charge of sales overseas. It is also promoting further global account management and continuing to strengthen the development and training of consultants and managers in each country.」

「Although challenging conditions continued in the overseas business, particularly in Asia, the company worked to achieve renewed growth and improve profitability, centered on providing services to Japanese companies with strong hiring needs.」

「Although challenging conditions continued in the overseas business, particularly in Asia, the company is working to restore growth and improve profitability, centered on providing services to Japanese companies with strong recruitment needs.」

「Although difficult market conditions continue in Asia, the overseas business aims to return to growth and improve profitability by strengthening services for Japanese companies in Europe and North America, where hiring needs are strong, including through the opening of new locations.」

「In the overseas business, the company will strengthen operations in developed markets and Europe and North America, where annual salaries are high, to increase gross profit, while continuing to review its cost structure, including its compensation system, in order to improve profitability across the business.」

「Going forward, the company will review costs while allocating personnel to areas where business expansion is expected, and will pursue further improvements aimed at shifting to a more profitable business structure.」

「Going forward, the company will review its cost structure, including personnel expenses, and work to shift to a more profitable business structure.」

「The prolonged weakness in Greater China has led the Shanghai base to cease sales activities at the end of February this year. Going forward, the company will consider the timely downsizing or withdrawal of unprofitable bases, while actively opening offices in regions with potential for future business growth, such as its Los Angeles base, which began sales activities in January this year, and its Bengaluru base in southern India, which opened in February.」

「In the overseas business, the company aims for stable growth in areas where performance is recovering, such as Europe and Singapore, while focusing on expansion into developed markets, beginning with its U.S. base established in October 2022, to raise placement fees and improve profitability. It is also considering measures including the closure of existing unprofitable bases.」

「The overseas business continues to be affected by China's prolonged zero-COVID policy, but performance recovered in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia and other areas. The business has maintained profitability steadily through the cumulative third quarter, following the cumulative second quarter.」

「Although China and Hong Kong continued to be affected by COVID-19, business recovery progressed in Europe, Singapore and Malaysia, and the overseas business remained profitable in the cumulative first-half period, following the cumulative first-quarter period.」

「The number of regions where performance is recovering, including Europe and Singapore, has increased. As a result, consolidated net sales for the first quarter exceeded the year-earlier period, and the company was able to return to profitability.」

「In the overseas business, operational improvements are progressing, including a recovery in productivity and higher placement fees in Singapore, where the company has been strengthening its operations.」

「In the overseas business, strengthened hiring, including management changes at key bases such as Singapore and Hong Kong, has resulted in signs of recovering productivity and higher placement fees, and the framework for medium- to long-term growth is gradually taking shape.」

「In the overseas business, strengthened hiring, including management, under the head of global operations appointed in September 2020 has resulted in productivity beginning to recover in several countries.」

「Meanwhile, in the overseas business during the first quarter of the fiscal year, the company hired a head of global operations in September 2020 and stationed that person in Singapore. As strengthened hiring, including management, under that person's direction began to take effect, productivity has started to recover in several countries. Performance has generally tracked the initial plan. Although the business has not yet returned to profitability, the company believes it has emerged from the worst of the situation.」

「Southeast Asia, which serves as a manufacturing base for multinational companies, continues to face uncertainty in its business environment as the increase in infections in the home country has yet to subside. From September, the Company has stationed the responsible executive overseeing the subsidiary at its Singapore headquarters, aiming to deepen existing markets and develop new ones, while strengthening the personnel transfers and expansion of specialist staff required for these efforts.」

「The Company made every effort to respond by bringing forward cost reductions in anticipation of the growing impact of the infectious disease, while also moving quickly to assess the downsizing or withdrawal of business locations that were not expected to recover over the medium to long term.」

「The Group made every effort to respond by prioritizing the safety of customers and employees and shifting operations to working from home, while moving quickly to assess the downsizing or withdrawal of business locations that were not expected to recover over the medium to long term.」

「In the overseas business, the Company clarified its profit-focused operations through measures including the disposal of unprofitable branches, consolidation of departments and a freeze on additional hiring, while reducing expenses.」

「Under these circumstances, the domestic recruitment business has worked to deepen its points of contact with companies while each department monitored market changes, strengthen internal information sharing, and pursue a strategy of focus and selection by screening the positions receiving additional attention. In the overseas business, the Company also clarified its profit-focused operations through measures including the disposal of unprofitable branches, consolidation of departments and a freeze on additional hiring, while reducing expenses.」

「In the overseas business, the Company is seeing trends in the Japanese manufacturing sector that are broadly similar to those in the domestic recruitment business, and will therefore focus particularly on improving performance in its core markets of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.」

「During the fiscal year, KPI management has been effective at the companies to which the Company newly dispatched management personnel, and visibility into the businesses needed to improve profit margins, although gradual, has steadily progressed. The Company will work to strengthen organizational stability by extending this initiative to all companies under JRA.」

「For the overseas business centered on JRA, for which all shares were acquired in March, the Company is working to restructure the business with improving profit margins as the top priority, with its Representative Director, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Administration Headquarters serving as General Manager of the Overseas Business Headquarters. Revenue and profit are progressing broadly in line with the initial acquisition plan.」

「The Company has newly appointed its Representative Director, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Administration Headquarters as General Manager of the Overseas Business Headquarters and is working to restructure the business with improving profit margins as the top priority.」