Strong start in Q1, with profit growth leading the way; H1 will show how far the company has progressed toward its full-year forecast

FY2027-Q1 revenue was ¥71,505 million, up 12.6% year on year, while operating profit was ¥8,360 million, up 33.1%. Compared with revenue of ¥63,528 million and operating profit of ¥6,281 million in the same quarter of the previous year, revenue increased by ¥7,977 million and operating profit by ¥2,079 million, indicating that profit grew faster than the expansion in revenue. Ordinary profit was ¥8,671 million and net income attributable to owners of the parent was ¥6,028 million, both above the year-earlier levels.

The operating margin rose by approximately 1.8 percentage points, from approximately 9.9% in the same quarter of the previous year to approximately 11.7% in the current quarter. Revenue growth was driven by football, golf, sports-style footwear and the work business in Japan, as well as golf, running and sports-style footwear overseas. The H1 results should clarify whether sales volume, product mix or reduced discounting contributed most to the margin improvement. At present, the company has not disclosed a monetary breakdown by factor or gross margins by product category.

The company’s FY2027 full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥280,000 million, operating profit of ¥25,500 million, ordinary profit of ¥26,500 million and net income attributable to owners of the parent of ¥19,000 million. Q1 progress was approximately 25.5% for revenue and 32.8% for operating profit, meaning that profit is ahead of the simple elapsed-quarter ratio. However, it is not yet possible to determine whether Q1’s profit-led performance reflects seasonality or structural improvement driven by selling prices, product mix and stronger DTC sales. In H1, operating profit of ¥12,750 million will serve as one benchmark, alongside the assessment of whether the full-year forecasts remain unchanged.