Recovery in photo-wedding volumes and average prices drives earnings growth

First-half FY2026 revenue was ¥3,169 million, up 6.4% year on year, while operating profit was ¥384 million, up 88.4%. Operating profit increased by ¥180 million from ¥204 million in the same period of the previous year, with profit growth substantially outpacing revenue growth. Over the nine-month cumulative period, revenue was ¥4,994 million and operating profit was ¥707 million, up 7.3% and 58.7% year on year, respectively.

By segment, nine-month cumulative studio-business revenue was ¥4,974.852 million and segment profit was ¥709.342 million, representing year-on-year increases of 7.4% and 58.0%, respectively. The results presentation attributed ¥317 million of the increase in revenue to photo-wedding services and ¥25 million to anniversary photo services. In addition to the core photo-wedding business, peripheral services including HAPISTA also contributed to revenue growth.

Business KPIs improved, with first-half shoots up 4.2% year on year and average spend per shoot up 3.9%; over nine months, the increases improved to 4.8% and 4.0%, respectively. The company cited optimized advertising, customer-referral partnerships from other companies, higher conversion rates resulting from improved customer service, and upgrades to outfits and album sales. We will assess whether measures to increase the value of each sale, rather than simply increasing the number of stores, are driving the rise in average spend per shoot.

Although shoots and average spend per shoot are presented as year-on-year changes, absolute figures, the breakdown between existing and new stores, and the number and cost-effectiveness of referrals through partner channels have not been fully disclosed. In the final results for FY2026, the key points for verification will be whether the nine-month improvement continued in the fourth quarter, whether new demand from the acquisition of エミュ is included, and whether the company can distinguish existing-store growth from the effect of new stores.