Will the reduction in losses despite lower revenue continue into Q3?

FY2026-H1 revenue was ¥1,965 million, down ¥970 million, or 33.1%, from ¥2,935 million in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, the operating loss was ¥171 million, narrowing by ¥40 million from ¥211 million a year earlier, while the adjusted EBITDA loss also narrowed from ¥201 million to ¥167 million. Although revenue fell sharply, the company reduced its operating loss by containing fixed costs, including advertising and personnel expenses.

However, quarterly trends have not improved consistently. Revenue was ¥981 million and the operating loss was ¥51 million in Q1, while Q2 alone, calculated from the H1 cumulative figures, generated revenue of approximately ¥984 million and an operating loss of approximately ¥120 million. The loss therefore widened from Q1. The ordinary loss also deteriorated to ¥168 million in H1 from ¥136 million a year earlier, indicating that the reduction in operating losses has not offset the disappearance of non-operating income. In Q3, it will be necessary to check whether the ordinary loss, as well as the operating loss, continues to widen.

On the cost side, advertising expenses fell 56.2% year on year and personnel expenses fell 6.5% as Machbait shifted its policy toward prioritising profitability. However, the company has not disclosed its FY2026 full-year revenue, operating profit, ordinary profit or net profit, citing the difficulty of making precise forecasts of the restructuring's progress. It also plans to set the fixed-cost ratio as a new restructuring progress metric, but has not provided the H1 actual figure or a target level.

At the next results announcement, we will check how far the approximately ¥120 million operating loss in Q2 alone was reduced in Q3 alone, and whether the cumulative operating loss of ¥171 million improved further. Even if achieving operating profitability is difficult, it will be important to see whether the company can disclose reductions by category, including adjusted EBITDA, advertising expenses, personnel expenses and outsourcing costs. The re-disclosure of the full-year outlook, the actual fixed-cost ratio and whether operating cash flow is disclosed will also help assess the effectiveness of the restructuring.