Nine-month progress is strong against the full-year forecast, but maintaining profitability in the second half is the key focus

For the nine months of FY2026 ended September, revenue was ¥173,047 million, operating income was ¥16,354 million, ordinary income was ¥19,363 million and net income attributable to owners of the parent was ¥12,619 million. Compared with revenue of ¥155,467 million, operating income of ¥12,286 million, ordinary income of ¥13,983 million and net income of ¥9,608 million in the same period of the previous year, revenue increased 11.3%, operating income 33.1%, ordinary income 38.5% and net income 31.3%. Profit growth exceeded revenue growth, indicating that operating leverage was at work, at least over the nine-month period.

The full-year forecasts as of the third quarter were revenue of ¥239,000 million, operating income of ¥22,000 million, ordinary income of ¥25,500 million and net income attributable to owners of the parent of ¥17,500 million. Nine-month progress against these forecasts was 72.4% for revenue, 74.3% for operating income, 75.9% for ordinary income and 72.1% for net income. Operating income and ordinary income were progressing ahead of revenue, while net income was progressing at roughly the same pace as revenue, making it necessary to monitor the build-up of bottom-line earnings, including non-operating gains and losses and the tax burden.

Subtracting the nine-month results from the full-year forecasts leaves ¥65,953 million in revenue, ¥5,646 million in operating income, ¥6,137 million in ordinary income and ¥4,881 million in net income required in the second half. These are simple differences between the full-year forecasts and cumulative results, not figures presented by the company as standalone second-half forecasts. The second-half operating margin on this simple calculation is 8.6%, below the nine-month margin of 9.5%, suggesting that the full-year forecast may incorporate some deceleration in profitability even if it is achieved.

Full-year results for FY2025 ended September were revenue of ¥212,051 million, operating income of ¥16,163 million and net income of ¥14,203 million. The revised FY2026 forecasts therefore imply increases of 12.7% in revenue, 36.1% in operating income and 23.2% in net income. At the next full-year results announcement, we will assess through segment operating income and the consolidated operating margin whether revenue growth driven by AI data-center demand was sufficient to absorb the laser business’s losses, deterioration in the profitability of other businesses, and raw-material and logistics costs.