Can the company maintain its return to profitability in Q1 and reach the revised H1 plan in FY2027-H1?

FY2027-Q1 revenue was ¥12.540 billion, up 3.6% year on year, while operating profit was ¥291 million, representing a return to profitability from an operating loss of ¥137 million in the year-earlier quarter. Ordinary profit was ¥388 million, and profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥259 million, with all three profit measures moving from a loss to a profit year on year. Progress against the full-year revenue forecast of ¥54.5 billion was approximately 23.0%, while progress against the operating profit forecast of ¥1.5 billion was approximately 19.4%.

At the Q1 earnings announcement, the company revised its forecasts for the six months ending September to revenue of ¥26.0 billion, operating profit of ¥550 million, ordinary profit of ¥650 million and net profit of ¥430 million. Accordingly, based on Q1 results, the required levels for Q2 alone are revenue of ¥13.460 billion, operating profit of ¥259 million, ordinary profit of ¥262 million and net profit of ¥171 million. Q2's operating margin would be approximately 1.9%, meaning the H1 plan can still be reached even if it falls below Q1's approximately 2.3%, but the quality of earnings needs to be assessed against demand conditions and raw material prices in the year-earlier quarter.

The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥54.5 billion, operating profit of ¥1.5 billion, ordinary profit of ¥1.7 billion and net profit of ¥1.15 billion. Even if the H1 plan is achieved, the company will need to generate operating profit of ¥950 million in H2, meaning approximately 63% of full-year operating profit will depend on the second half. It will be important to determine whether the completion of the earnings-structure reforms and the qualitative growth and expansion of the foodservice business, the final-year goals of the 13th Medium-Term Management Plan, will be supported not only by H2 seasonality but also by improvements in costs and selling, general and administrative expenses.

The next earnings announcement is scheduled for 11 November 2026. The Q1 materials did not disclose quarterly cash flows, revenue by region, sales volume or unit prices, or profit changes by factor. Accordingly, in H1 we will look not only at whether operating profit exceeded ¥550 million, but also at whether Q2-alone revenue and profit, the impact of raw material prices and the effect of price revisions are disclosed, together with the breakdown between foodservice products and other products and health foods.