Operating profit reached 64.4% of the full-year forecast at the interim stage; second-half earnings growth will determine whether the full-year forecast is achieved

In FY2026-H1, revenue was ¥17,617 million, up 4.7% year on year; operating profit was ¥1,030 million, up 63.9%; profit before tax was ¥787 million, up 111.9%; and profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥520 million, up 81.3%. Progress against the full-year forecasts was 48.9% for revenue of ¥36,000 million, 64.4% for operating profit of ¥1,600 million and 52.0% for net profit of ¥1,000 million.

The first point to confirm in FY2026-Q3 is that profit progress is substantially outpacing revenue progress. Interim operating margin was approximately 5.9% on a simple calculation, improving by approximately 2.1 percentage points from approximately 3.7% in the same period of the previous year. To achieve the full-year forecasts, the second half must generate revenue of ¥18,383 million, operating profit of ¥570 million and profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥480 million. The key question is whether profit can continue to build in the second half.

For operating profit, more than 60% of the full-year forecast has already been earned by the interim stage. Accordingly, if cumulative operating profit in FY2026-Q3 is below ¥1,030 million, this would mean that the third quarter alone produced an operating loss. If it exceeds ¥1,030 million, the first-half earnings pace can be considered to have continued. For revenue, we will also check whether nine-month cumulative revenue exceeds ¥17,617 million and whether progress in projects and content remains sufficient to achieve the full-year forecast despite the need to generate ¥18,383 million in the second half.

The full-year forecasts remain unchanged, while the annual dividend forecast has been increased by ¥1 from the previous year's actual dividend of ¥10 to ¥11. However, the company has not disclosed numerical policies for the payout ratio, DOE or total payout ratio, so it remains unclear whether additional shareholder returns or next-period policy will be addressed if profit progress is strong. At the next results announcement, we will check not only whether the full-year forecasts are revised, but also whether the company explains, by segment, the likelihood of achieving second-half revenue and operating profit targets.