After returning to profitability in the first half, ¥543 million of second-half operating profit is needed to achieve full-year operating profit of ¥1,500 million

Revenue for the six months from January through June 2026 was ¥6,324.952 million, up 7.1% from ¥5,906.738 million in the same period of the previous year. Operating profit was ¥956.697 million, a substantial improvement from the operating loss of ¥23.073 million in the same period of the previous year. The operating margin was approximately 15.1%, sharply up from approximately negative 0.4% a year earlier, making the recovery in profitability, rather than revenue growth alone, the central change in this earnings report.

The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥11,800 million, operating profit of ¥1,500 million, ordinary profit of ¥1,750 million and net profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥1,500 million. First-half progress rates were 53.6% for revenue, 63.8% for operating profit, 65.6% for ordinary profit and 71.6% for net profit, with profit progress outpacing revenue. Simply subtracting first-half results from the full-year forecasts leaves required second-half revenue of ¥5,475.048 million and operating profit of ¥543.303 million.

Accordingly, in FY2026-Q3, it will be important to determine whether cumulative operating profit can exceed at least ¥956.697 million and whether adding the remaining ¥543.303 million toward the full-year forecast is realistic. First-half profit included multiple factors, including SG&A cost controls and gains on the sale of shares in affiliated companies, so Q3 needs to distinguish whether operating profit is continuing to improve through higher gross profit from advertising demand or is dependent on temporary expense reductions.

The key figures to monitor are revenue, operating profit and operating margin for Q3 alone. Maintaining the first-half operating margin of 15.1% would increase confidence in the full-year forecast, while a Q3-only margin below 10% would raise the likelihood that profit was weighted toward the first half. Whether the company discloses numerical assumptions for the Q3 and Q4 market environment, advertising demand and SG&A expenses will also be an important factor in evaluating the next earnings report.