First-half performance improved, but meeting the full-year forecast will require accelerated sales growth and loss control in the second half.

Sales in the first half of the fiscal year ending December 2026 were ¥580.567 million, up 10.2% from ¥527.020 million in the year-earlier period. The operating loss narrowed to ¥26.289 million from ¥42.381 million, while the ordinary loss also improved to ¥25.417 million from ¥41.580 million, and the net loss attributable to owners of the parent improved to ¥16.666 million from ¥29.713 million. However, the company remained in the red at the operating, ordinary and net income levels.

The full-year forecast remains unchanged at sales of ¥1,262 million, an operating loss of ¥76 million, an ordinary loss of ¥75 million and a net loss attributable to owners of the parent of ¥76 million. First-half sales reached 46.0% of the full-year forecast, approximately 4 percentage points below the 50% implied by the passage of half the year. Mechanically breaking down the full-year forecast indicates that ¥681.433 million in sales will be required in the second half, equivalent to 1.17 times first-half sales. On the other hand, subtracting first-half actual results from the full-year operating forecast implies a second-half operating loss of ¥49.711 million. Accordingly, the extent to which costs are expected to increase in the second half, not just sales, will be important.

On a standalone quarterly basis, first-quarter sales were ¥291.711 million, up 3.6% year on year, while second-quarter sales were approximately ¥288 million, up 17.5%, indicating an acceleration in growth. The earnings presentation attributed the second quarter's sales growth to the expansion of corporate bookings that began in April. At the next earnings release, we will need to distinguish whether the higher standalone second-quarter growth rate resulted from the temporary recognition of corporate bookings or is continuing across both corporate and individual bookings.

The company materials assess first-half progress as broadly in line with plan, but sales progress and operating-loss progress are not the same. At the next earnings release, the focus will be on whether the assumptions for fourth-quarter sales and costs required to maintain the full-year forecast become more specific, in addition to cumulative third-quarter sales, operating profit or loss, and changes in selling, general and administrative expenses.