Can the Q1 revenue growth pace translate into the heavily second-half-weighted operating profit plan?

In the fiscal year ended March 2026, operating revenue was ¥8,491 million, operating profit was ¥212 million, and the operating margin was 2.5%. The company forecasts operating revenue of ¥8,850 million and operating profit of ¥370 million for the fiscal year ending March 2027. While revenue growth is expected to be limited to 4.2%, operating profit is projected to increase 74.5%, implying an operating margin of approximately 4.18%. In the first quarter, operating revenue was ¥2,122 million and operating profit was ¥40 million, up 6.8% and 144.1% year on year, respectively.

First-quarter progress against the full-year forecast was approximately 24.0% for operating revenue, calculated as ¥2,122 million divided by ¥8,850 million, and approximately 10.8% for operating profit, calculated as ¥40 million divided by ¥370 million. If the full-year forecast is simply converted into a 50% first-half benchmark, first-half operating revenue of ¥4,425 million and operating profit of ¥185 million would be required. After deducting the first-quarter results, the second quarter alone would need to generate approximately ¥2,303 million in operating revenue and ¥145 million in operating profit. These are mechanical benchmarks that do not reflect seasonality, rather than first-half forecasts provided by the company.

The company attributed the first-quarter revenue growth to revisions to fees collected from the beginning of the period, transaction volumes from major customers, and the acquisition of new customers. On the profit side, it said that the impact of the fee revisions on margin improvement was significant. However, it has not disclosed quarterly budgets, first-half segment plans, or the amount by which the fee revisions increased profit. As a result, even if first-half operating profit reaches ¥185 million, it will be difficult to determine without further factor-by-factor explanation whether the fee revisions are continuing to have an effect or profit was simply concentrated in the second quarter.

The latest published information gives 6 November 2026 as the scheduled date for the next results announcement. In the first-half results, it will be necessary to check not only actual operating revenue and operating profit, but also the profit required in the remaining second half to meet the full-year operating profit forecast of ¥370 million, whether the full-year forecast has been maintained or revised, and the first-half seasonality and second-quarter standalone profit level. In particular, whether the gap between revenue progress of 24.0% and profit progress of 10.8% has narrowed will be the first quantitative indicator for assessing the likelihood of meeting the plan.