The key focus in the third quarter is progress toward achieving the full-year profit plan

The interim period of the fiscal year ending November 2026 covered the six months from 1 December 2025 to 31 May 2026, resulting in revenue of ¥3,083 million, an operating loss of ¥55 million, an ordinary loss of ¥69 million and an interim net loss of ¥70 million. Because the fiscal year-end change means that the period covered differs from the previous corresponding period, it is important to note that improvement cannot be assessed solely through year-on-year comparisons.

The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥6,750 million, operating profit of ¥50 million, ordinary profit of ¥20 million and net profit of ¥14 million. On a simple calculation, revenue progress stood at only 45.7% at the interim point, meaning that ¥3,667 million in revenue will be required in the second half alone to achieve the full-year target. This is equivalent to approximately 118.9% of interim-period revenue. In operating results, the company must first offset the ¥55 million interim loss and then secure a ¥50 million profit, requiring at least ¥105 million in operating profit in the second half.

Similarly, ordinary results and net results will require profits of ¥89 million and ¥84 million, respectively, in the second half. The interim-period explanation indicated that sales-promotion expenses, pricing measures for the company’s private-label products and consumers’ preference for savings were weighing on earnings, so a simple recovery in revenue may not be sufficient to reach the full-year profit targets. It will be necessary to distinguish which of sales volume, discount rates, product mix and promotional expenses improved in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, we will look at not only cumulative revenue but also revenue and operating results for the latest quarter, including July and August, as well as growth in Japan and overseas. Of particular importance is whether the company discloses specific factors supporting progress toward second-half revenue of at least ¥3,667 million and operating profit of at least ¥105 million. Because year-on-year comparisons with the previous corresponding period cannot be used, it will also be relevant whether the company provides supplementary indicators such as monthly revenue trends, number of purchases, average spend per customer, promotional expenses and the sales mix of PBCB products.