Ushio raised its ordinary profit forecast for the current fiscal year from its previous forecast, while ordinary profit for the first 6 months rose sharply year on year. It also raised its full-year outlook and indicated that the expected rate of profit growth in the second half would increase further.
Ushio announced its earnings after the close of trading on 6 November 2024. Consolidated ordinary profit for the six months ended September 2024, the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027, increased 92.2% year on year to ¥9.67 billion. It also raised its full-year ordinary profit forecast by 28.6%, from the previous forecast of ¥14.0 billion to ¥18.0 billion. As a result, the expected profit growth rate is projected to increase to approximately 34.9% from the previous outlook.
Based on first-half results and the second-half plan, our estimate is for consolidated ordinary profit of ¥8.32 billion in the October–March period, up 0.1% year on year and broadly flat. In the July–September quarter, the latest 3-month period, consolidated ordinary profit reached ¥4.36 billion, up 27.4% year on year, while the operating margin improved from 7.1% to 8.9%.
As part of the revisions to its current-year forecasts, the company raised its previous revenue forecast of ¥210.0 billion and its forecasts of ¥14.0 billion each for operating profit, ordinary profit and net profit to new forecasts of ¥220.0 billion, ¥18.0 billion, ¥18.0 billion and ¥12.0 billion, respectively. Earnings per share is expected to improve from ¥132.3 to ¥151.2.
For the second-half forecast for the current fiscal year, the company maintained its previous forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2025 while indicating that revenue is expected to increase year on year. Even after comparison including the change in the fiscal-period classification, the revised outlook suggests growth.