FY2027 1Q delivered revenue growth against the full-year forecast, but profit progress needs to be assessed before the halfway point.

First-quarter revenue was ¥83,252 million, operating profit was ¥2,191 million and profit for the quarter attributable to owners of the parent was ¥1,517 million. Year on year, revenue increased 9.2%, operating profit rose 44.0% and profit attributable to owners of the parent increased 116.2%, representing a strong start on the surface. The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥320,000 million, operating profit of ¥14,000 million and net profit of ¥10,000 million, putting progress at 26.0%, 15.7% and 15.2%, respectively, at the end of the quarter.

Revenue was approximately 1 percentage point above the simple 25% passage-of-time benchmark, but operating profit progress was lower than revenue progress. First-quarter operating margin was 2.6%, below the full-year forecast of 4.4%, so in FY2027-H1 it will be important to assess not only whether revenue growth continues, but also the extent to which margins improve. Deducting first-quarter actuals from the full-year forecasts leaves required revenue of ¥236,748 million, operating profit of ¥11,809 million and net profit of ¥8,483 million for the remaining 3 quarters. These required levels are not targets explicitly stated by the company, but mechanical remaining amounts needed to achieve the forecasts.

FY2026 actual revenue was ¥327,894 million and operating profit was ¥11,624 million. For FY2027, revenue is planned to decline 2.4% to ¥320,000 million, while operating profit is expected to increase 20.4% to ¥14,000 million. Accordingly, at the next results announcement we will assess whether the plan to build profit through motorcycle instruments, HUDs, cost reductions and pricing adjustments is actually progressing, rather than focusing on a recovery in revenue scale. The first-quarter materials indicate that the full-year forecasts have not been revised, but do not disclose the company's own assessment of whether performance is above plan, in line with plan or below plan, or explain the profit required after the end of the first half.