Can the low operating profit progress against the full-year forecast be recovered in the first half?

FY2027 Q1 revenue was ¥6,526 million, up 5.6% year on year, while operating profit turned positive at ¥105 million from a ¥124 million loss in the same period of the previous year. However, revenue progress against the full-year forecast of ¥33,000 million was 19.8%, and operating profit progress against the ¥750 million forecast was 14.0%, leaving profit progress 5.8 percentage points behind revenue progress. The Q1 operating margin was approximately 1.6%, below FY2026's full-year level of 2.4%.

In the same period of the previous year, the first half of FY2026, revenue was ¥12,054 million and the operating loss was ¥270 million. On a simple comparison, FY2027 first-half improvement appears substantial, but 軽井沢ガス株式会社 was newly consolidated from FY2027 Q1, so the scope of consolidation differs from the previous year. Accordingly, in Q2 it will be important to explain not only changes in consolidated revenue and operating profit, but also changes in the existing business excluding 軽井沢ガス株式会社's contribution and the comparative effects of the change in the scope of consolidation.

The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥33,000 million, operating profit of ¥750 million, ordinary profit of ¥1,200 million, and net income attributable to owners of the parent of ¥960 million, with no revisions as of Q1. If first-half revenue does not reach ¥16,500 million and operating profit does not reach ¥375 million, the company will need to generate more than ¥16,500 million in revenue and more than ¥375 million in operating profit in the second half. In the next results announcement, we will check whether sales volumes and prices for LP gas and petroleum products, inventory valuation, and increases in personnel and delivery costs are disclosed separately, to determine whether the low Q1 profit progress reflects seasonality or a change in the assumptions underlying the full-year plan.