Changes in business operations in response to shifts in market demand and variance from the initial forecast

「As contributions from optimizing the earnings structure are expected in the second half, the core nursing and caregiving staffing business, as well as call-center staffing and building-maintenance staffing, remained sluggish in the near term, causing both sales and operating profit to fall substantially below the same period of the previous year.」

「Performance for the consolidated fiscal year was primarily affected by lower sales in the core nursing and caregiving staffing business, weak performance in call-center staffing and building-maintenance staffing, and higher selling, general and administrative expenses resulting from increased advertising and promotional spending and DX investment aimed at future growth. Sales fell below the initial forecast, while profit was substantially below both the initial plan and the same period of the previous year.」

「However, although the Company sought to shift toward the BPO business by utilizing call-center staffing resources, sales fell below the initial forecast. On the profit side, the highly profitable special-demand projects generated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which had made a significant contribution, ended, while the Company also made greater-than-ever investments in measures such as advertising and promotional spending and DX-driven operational efficiency to support growth from the next fiscal year onward. As a result, sales and profit were substantially below both the initial plan and the same period of the previous year.」

「However, as the high-margin special-demand projects related to the COVID-19 pandemic that had contributed significantly to revenue and profit began to wind down, the revenue mix returned to consist solely of existing businesses. Although performance was in line with the initial plan, the result was significantly below the same period of the previous year.」

「The sales mix returned to one consisting solely of existing businesses. Although performance was in line with the plan at the beginning of the fiscal year, the resulting sales were substantially below the same period of the previous year.」

「Regarding the impact of the spread of COVID-19, sales in the senior work business were affected from early April 2020 by a reduction in new intake capacity at client companies and adjustments to staff shifts. From June onward, the number of orders from client companies also remained below pre-pandemic levels due to the same factors, falling below the initial outlook.」

「Regarding the impact of COVID-19, client companies began reducing their capacity to accept new dispatched workers and adjusting the shifts of staff already working from early April 2020. As a result, revenue from the Senior Work business fell below the initial forecast.」

「In the senior care business, the Company worked to establish systems for matching clients and job seekers more quickly and to establish operating systems for its branches. However, efficiency gains from centralizing operations at headquarters took longer than expected, which delayed the opening of new branches and caused the growth rate of sales to stagnate.」

「Against this backdrop, the Company prioritized responding rapidly to shifts in market demand observed in its senior care business and changed its business operations, resulting in sales and earnings deviating from the initial forecasts.」