Q1 front-loads full-year forecast profit; FY2027-H1 will test the repeatability of progress

FY2027-Q1 revenue was ¥10,376 million, up 5.2% year on year, operating profit was ¥2,971 million, up 4.6%, ordinary profit was ¥2,992 million, up 4.9%, and profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥2,057 million, up 9.4%. Operating profit growth was slightly below revenue growth, while net profit was relatively strong, increasing 9.4% year on year. The equity ratio also improved by 1.8 percentage points, from 74.7% at the end of the previous fiscal year to 76.5%.

The FY2027 full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥34,800 million, operating profit of ¥4,110 million, ordinary profit of ¥4,220 million, and net profit of ¥2,805 million. Comparing Q1 results mechanically with the full-year forecasts gives progress rates of 29.8% for revenue, 72.3% for operating profit, and 73.3% for net profit. At the end of Q1, only ¥1,139 million of operating profit and ¥748 million of net profit remained to reach the full-year forecasts, making apparent progress against the plan high.

However, the company has consistently disclosed seasonality in which profit is weighted toward the first quarter, because the proportion of April hires is high in the nursing sector and revenue from recruitment services is concentrated at the beginning of the fiscal year. Accordingly, it is difficult to view the 72.3% progress rate for Q1 operating profit as a direct signal of upside to the full-year forecast. In FY2027-H1, it will be necessary to determine, alongside year-on-year comparisons, whether Q1’s high profitability continued into Q2 or whether profit slowed sharply in Q2 alone.

In its Q1 disclosure, the company left its previous consolidated full-year forecasts unchanged, but did not provide progress rates against those forecasts or the segment-level profit amounts required from Q2 onward. In the next results announcement, we will want to confirm not only cumulative operating profit, but also how much each segment, including Human Resources Services, Recruiting, Regional Information Services, the HR Platform, and Overseas Operations, is expected to contribute toward achieving the full-year plan, as well as the basis for leaving the full-year forecasts unchanged.