FY2027-Q1 operating profit is ahead of the full-year plan; FY2027-H1 will confirm whether this strong progress is sustainable

In the first quarter from April to June of FY2027, revenue rose 12.8% year on year to ¥9,214 million, operating profit rose 124.2% to ¥576 million, ordinary profit rose 269.0% to ¥607 million, and quarterly net profit attributable to owners of the parent rose 363.2% to ¥213 million. Operating margin was approximately 6.3%, calculated as ¥576 million divided by ¥9,214 million, up approximately 3.1 percentage points from approximately 3.1% in the same quarter of the previous year. Operating profit grew faster than revenue, suggesting that profit reflected not only simple sales expansion but also price adjustments and improvements in store operations. The key focus next time will be whether this margin can be reproduced in the first half.

The full-year forecasts remain ¥36,000 million in revenue, ¥1,500 million in operating profit, ¥1,300 million in ordinary profit and ¥350 million in net profit attributable to owners of the parent, with no revisions as of the end of the first quarter. Simple progress rates are 25.6% for revenue, 38.4% for operating profit, 46.7% for ordinary profit and 60.9% for net profit. As quarterly seasonality cannot be confirmed from the source information, these figures cannot be taken as the likelihood of achieving the full-year targets without adjustment. However, the fact that operating profit and ordinary profit are progressing faster than revenue is an important signal that can be tested in FY2027-H1.

First-quarter net profit includes extraordinary gains such as a ¥56.038 million gain on lease cancellations and a ¥21.610 million reversal of asset retirement obligations. It also includes approximately ¥41.6 million in extraordinary losses, including a ¥41.121 million loss from remittance fraud at an overseas subsidiary. Accordingly, the 60.9% progress rate for net profit of ¥213 million differs in earnings quality from the 38.4% progress rate for operating profit. In the first-half results, it will be necessary to distinguish between cumulative operating profit, ordinary earning power excluding extraordinary gains and losses, whether losses such as the remittance fraud loss recur, and progress toward the full-year net profit forecast of ¥350 million.

No supplementary financial results materials were provided for the first quarter, and no results briefing was held. As a result, no quantitative breakdown was disclosed showing how much inbound demand, new store openings and brand initiatives each contributed to revenue of ¥9,214 million and operating profit of ¥576 million. In the next FY2027-H1 results, the focus will be not only whether revenue reaches ¥18,000 million and operating profit reaches ¥750 million, the simple 50% benchmarks, but also whether the company provides new information on revisions to the full-year forecasts, profit contributions by segment, and the breakdown of contributions from prices, customer numbers and new stores.