Revenue is rising, but operating profit is declining; a recovery in the fourth quarter is needed to meet the full-year forecast.

For the nine months ended 30 September 2026, revenue was ¥32,153 million, an increase of ¥1,420 million from ¥30,733 million in the same period of the previous year. Operating profit, however, was ¥3,746 million, down ¥142 million from ¥3,888 million. Ordinary profit was also below the previous year, at ¥3,805 million versus ¥3,921 million, while profit attributable to owners of the parent rose 39.2% year on year to ¥2,618 million. Revenue growth has not been accompanied by operating profit growth, leaving a margin-related weakness of higher revenue but lower profit.

The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥45,000 million, operating profit of ¥5,000 million, ordinary profit of ¥5,020 million and profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥3,400 million. Nine-month progress was approximately 71.5% for revenue, 74.9% for operating profit and 77.0% for net profit. Compared with simple time-based progress of 75% after nine months, revenue was approximately 3.5 percentage points behind, while operating profit was broadly in line. Meeting the forecasts requires fourth-quarter revenue of ¥12,847 million, operating profit of ¥1,254 million and net profit of ¥782 million, implying a fourth-quarter operating margin of approximately 9.8%.

The nine-month operating margin was approximately 11.7%, down about 1.0 percentage point from approximately 12.7% in the same period of the previous year. Recent business briefings indicated that brands for which advertising investment was reduced saw lower revenue, while investment in healthcare and developing brands was expanded. Costs preceding revenue growth may therefore be weighing on margins. In the final results, it will be important to see whether changes in advertising expenses, sales promotion expenses and fulfilment costs can be broken down at least to the level of several hundred million yen.

No statement of cash flows was prepared for the third-quarter results, and cash flow from operating activities was not disclosed. Profit by segment was also not disclosed, so the financial figures alone cannot show whether the decline in operating profit arose in cosmetics, healthcare, wholesale or overseas sales. For FY2026, in addition to achievement of the revenue and operating profit forecasts, the operating margin, operating cash flow and profit contribution by brand and channel will need to be confirmed.