Operating profit is ahead of plan for the first half, but full-year guidance requires a buildup in second-half revenue

FY2026-H1 revenue was ¥22,683 million, up 22.8% year on year, while operating profit was ¥2,446 million, up 67.4%. Full-year guidance remains unchanged at revenue of ¥46,400 million and operating profit of ¥2,950 million, implying simple progress rates of 48.9% for revenue and 82.9% for operating profit. Operating profit is well ahead of the elapsed-period benchmark, indicating that first-half profit generation is ahead of plan.

By contrast, the second-half amounts required based on the gap to full-year guidance are revenue of ¥23,717 million and operating profit of ¥504 million. While second-half revenue needs to reach 104.6% of the first-half result, the operating margin required in the second half is only about 2.1%. Given a first-half operating margin of about 10.8% and an operating margin of about 6.4% based on full-year guidance, the company’s plan does not appear to assume that the first half’s high profitability will continue unchanged into the second half. Rather, it appears to incorporate revenue seasonality and the burden of growth investment. However, these required second-half amounts are calculated as the difference between full-year guidance and the first-half results, and are not forecasts separately provided by the company for Q3 and Q4.

The increase in revenue reflects growth in the number of customer establishments, registered workers and posted job openings in the Human Resources Platform business, as well as an increase in the number of medical institutions using the Medical Platform business. The Human Resources Platform business generated segment profit of ¥6,217 million in the first half, while the Medical Platform business recorded a segment loss of ¥484 million on revenue of ¥5,488 million. As a result, the composition of second-half profit cannot be determined from the company-wide operating profit of ¥2,446 million alone. In addition, the Human Resources Platform business has seasonal concentration of revenue in the second quarter due to an increase in new hires beginning work in April, so it would not be appropriate to simply extrapolate first-half profit progress to the full year.

For the next earnings release, it will be important to see whether the company discloses the standalone three-month Q3 results in addition to cumulative Q3 revenue and operating profit. The interim disclosure did not show the operating margin or standalone quarterly results on the cover page, and did not quantify the impact of marketing expenses, the online training system, or organizational enhancements and expanded AI functionality in the Medical Platform business on standalone Q3 profit. The key points to verify are whether full-year guidance is maintained or revised at Q3, and whether the first-half profit outperformance resulted from a temporary reduction in investment spending, together with the segment-level figures.