Can the full-year plan after the upward revision maintain the first-quarter pace, with profit growth leading revenue growth?

In the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027, revenue was ¥208.65 billion, operating profit was ¥10.315 billion, ordinary income was ¥10.938 billion, and net income attributable to owners of the parent was ¥7.623 billion. Year on year, revenue increased 42.3%, operating profit 175.6%, ordinary income 176.1% and net income 153.1%, with profit growing faster than the top line. The earnings presentation also showed an operating margin of 4.9%, an improvement of 2.3 percentage points from the same period a year earlier.

The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥740 billion, operating profit of ¥28.5 billion, ordinary income of ¥29.6 billion and net income of ¥20.6 billion. A simple calculation of first-quarter progress gives 28.2% for revenue and 36.2% for operating profit, exceeding the 25% elapsed-quarter rate by 3.2 and 11.2 percentage points, respectively. Operating profit progress was particularly 10.0 percentage points ahead of revenue progress, suggesting that pricing factors and margin improvement are leading growth.

However, this is a mechanical comparison that does not take seasonality into account, and the company did not disclose its assessment of the full-year forecast or the revenue and profit levels required for the remaining period in its first-quarter materials. To achieve the full-year forecast, the remaining period after the first quarter would need to generate revenue of ¥531.35 billion and operating profit of ¥18.185 billion, making the level accumulated in the first half important.

Compared with the previously announced figures, the revenue forecast was raised from ¥700 billion to ¥740 billion and the operating profit forecast from ¥24 billion to ¥28.5 billion. At the first-half results announcement, we will assess through cumulative results and the company’s own assessment whether the temporary price and volume effects seen in the first quarter have continued, whether the 4.9% operating margin has been maintained, and whether the full-year forecast is maintained or revised again.