Q1 is on track for the full-year plan, but H1 will confirm whether the profit-led trend is sustainable

Q1 consolidated revenue was ¥4,672 million, operating profit was ¥1,106 million, ordinary profit was ¥1,115 million, and net profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥750 million. The full-year forecasts are revenue of ¥18,500 million, operating profit of ¥3,700 million, ordinary profit of ¥3,740 million, and net profit of ¥2,560 million, implying progress rates of 25.3% for revenue, 29.9% for operating profit, 29.8% for ordinary profit, and 29.3% for net profit.

Assuming an even quarterly run rate, the H1 checkpoints are revenue of ¥9,250 million and operating profit of ¥1,850 million. These are not targets set by the company, but provide a practical benchmark for measuring how much of the plan’s 50% has been achieved in FY2027-H1. Looking only at Q1, operating profit progress was 4.6 percentage points ahead of revenue progress, potentially reflecting the Publishing segment’s high profitability as well as revenue and profit recognition in the anime business.

The Q1 operating margin was 23.7%, while SG&A expenses were ¥2,296 million, equivalent to 49.1% of revenue. In the H1 results, it will be necessary to assess the extent to which sales commissions associated with expanded e-book sales, personnel expenses, AI-related investment, and personnel and outsourcing costs at the anime production subsidiary weigh on margins. Given the high Q1 profit progress, if production costs and delivery expenses weighted toward the second half are incurred later, full-year profitability cannot be assessed from the H1 margin alone.

The comparability of figures after consolidation is constrained, and consolidated year-on-year figures were not disclosed for Q1. In FY2027-H1, it will be important to see whether consolidated figures for the prior-year period are provided or whether the reasons for the lack of comparability are explained again. In addition to the progress benchmarks of ¥9,250 million in revenue and ¥1,850 million in operating profit, we will track whether an operating margin of around 23.7% can be maintained and whether the full-year forecasts remain unchanged.