First-half operating profit growth was driven by a one-off gain, making the Q2 standalone slowdown the key underlying issue.

Revenue for the first half of the fiscal year ending December 2026 was ¥36.862 billion, while operating profit was ¥1.320 billion, representing year-on-year increases of 2.2% and 66.7%, respectively. With full-year forecasts of ¥70.0 billion in revenue and ¥2.5 billion in operating profit, first-half progress was nearly identical at 52.7% for revenue and 52.8% for operating profit. The operating margin was approximately 3.6% in the first half, an improvement of about 1.4 percentage points from approximately 2.2% a year earlier.

However, the composition of earnings requires careful scrutiny. The company recognized a ¥1.050 billion gain on the sale of fixed assets as other income following the transfer of fixed assets held by its U.S. subsidiary in February 2026, contributing to the improvement in operating profit. Simply deducting this gain from operating profit of ¥1.320 billion leaves a first-half profit level of approximately ¥270 million. This does not rule out the possibility that structural reforms and cost reductions are beginning to take effect, but the reported 66.7% increase cannot be treated as a sustained improvement in earnings power.

Quarterly trends are also important. First-quarter operating profit was ¥1.127 billion, implying Q2 standalone operating profit of approximately ¥193 million based on the difference from first-half operating profit of ¥1.320 billion. Although Q2 standalone revenue increased to approximately ¥19.078 billion, the increase in profit was limited. In Q3, it will be important to determine whether the company can secure operating profit above the approximately ¥190 million recorded in Q2 even excluding one-off factors such as the gain on the sale of fixed assets, and how much of the increase in personnel and resource costs and structural-reform expenses remains.

Although first-half profit before tax was positive at ¥324 million, the interim loss attributable to owners of the parent was ¥124 million. The company forecasts full-year profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥500 million, so the Q3 results will need to be assessed not only for operating profit but also for below-operating-profit and final-stage factors such as finance costs, taxes and non-controlling interests. In particular, whether cumulative Q3 revenue reaches ¥52.5 billion and operating profit reaches ¥1.875 billion, or roughly 75% of the full-year forecasts, will be a benchmark for assessing the achievability of the unchanged full-year plan.