First-quarter progress toward the full-year forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 is broadly on track

First-quarter revenue was ¥107,963 million, operating profit was ¥3,809 million, and profit for the quarter attributable to owners of the parent was ¥2,053 million. Year on year, revenue increased 19.1%, operating profit 30.9%, and profit attributable to owners of the parent 51.1%, with profit growth outpacing revenue growth. Progress toward the full-year forecast was approximately 27.0% for revenue, calculated as ¥107,963 million ÷ ¥400,000 million, and approximately 28.2% for operating profit, calculated as ¥3,809 million ÷ ¥13,500 million.

Assuming profit builds evenly at 25% per quarter, the first-quarter benchmarks are ¥100,000 million for revenue and ¥3,375 million for operating profit. Actual results exceeded these benchmarks by ¥7,963 million in revenue and ¥434 million in operating profit. However, automobile sales, car rentals and housing deliveries are seasonal, so it is too early to regard these differences as evidence of a full-year upside. For the first half, ¥200,000 million in revenue and ¥6,750 million in operating profit are useful benchmarks.

The first-quarter operating margin was 3.53%, an improvement of approximately 0.32 percentage points from approximately 3.21% a year earlier. By contrast, the full-year operating margin for the fiscal year ended March 2026 fell to 2.8%, while the full-year operating margin implied by the fiscal year ending March 2027 forecasts of ¥400,000 million in revenue and ¥13,500 million in operating profit is 3.38%. It will be necessary to assess whether the first-quarter improvement is maintained in the first half and whether the margin declines again in the second half as housing deliveries and selling expenses increase.

The first-quarter results included no revision to the full-year earnings forecast, and the annual dividend forecast also remained unchanged at ¥24 per share. In addition, neither supplementary earnings materials nor an earnings briefing was held, so the progress assessment currently provided by the company is limited to the figures and business overview in the financial results summary. At the next interim results announcement, it will be necessary to assess not only whether the full-year forecast is maintained or revised, but also the difference in progress between revenue and operating profit, the extent of any second-half weighting, and the assumptions underlying the profit margin.