Cumulative 9-month profit exceeds plan, but fourth-quarter contribution is needed to achieve full-year operating profit

Cumulative revenue for the first 3 quarters of the fiscal year ending September 2026 was ¥42.780 billion, representing 76.9% of the ¥55.600 billion full-year forecast. This was 1.9 percentage points above the simple 75% time-based progress rate after 9 months, putting revenue broadly on plan. Operating profit, however, was ¥803 million, only 61.8% of the ¥1.300 billion full-year forecast. Fourth-quarter operating profit of ¥497 million is required, making the full-year operating profit outcome more important than revenue in light of the latest quarter's cost burden and the profit composition by business.

Ordinary profit was ¥1.757 billion, already ¥157 million above the ¥1.600 billion full-year forecast, while profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥1.346 billion, ¥556 million above the ¥790 million forecast. However, this outperformance reflects not only accumulated operating profit but also the impact of consolidated earnings including the investment business, share of profit of investments accounted for using the equity method, and gains on sales of investment securities. It is therefore inappropriate to regard the excess ordinary profit and net profit over plan as a direct improvement in core earnings power.

The full-year forecasts were not revised at the third-quarter results. The presentation materials cited volatile foreign-exchange trends and the possibility of impairment of securities as reasons for maintaining them. Extraordinary losses of ¥381.15 million were recorded in the third quarter, including a ¥237.55 million loss on valuation of investment securities, a ¥77.503 million impairment loss and ¥60.396 million in head-office relocation expenses. At the next results, it will be necessary to assess whether additional valuation losses or impairment losses arose in the fourth quarter and the level of adjusted net profit excluding them.

At the next results, the focus will be not only on achieving full-year revenue but also on which of the product, creator, North America and other businesses generated the ¥497 million of fourth-quarter profit required to reach full-year operating profit of ¥1.300 billion. It will also be important to see whether the reasons for ordinary profit and net profit exceeding forecasts are disclosed by component, including share of profit of equity-method investments, gains on sales in the investment business, foreign-exchange gains and losses, and valuation and impairment losses.