Kusuri no Aoki Holdings, Procrea Holdings and Advantest were highlighted as stocks in focus in Kabutan's midday edition. All 3 stocks posted substantial gains amid earnings announcements and reports of a management integration. Kusuri no Aoki released its first-quarter results and reported new drugstore openings and improved monthly sales. Procrea rebounded following reports that it had begun considering a management integration. Advantest benefited from the rise in the SOX index, which increased activity in semiconductor-related stocks.
Kusuri no Aoki Holdings released its consolidated results for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending May 2027. Sales were ¥159.042 billion, up 13.8% year on year, while operating profit was ¥8.424 billion, up 16.0%. The company is also working to increase the proportion of large-store openings and strengthen its expertise in handling fresh foods. From June through August, it opened 21 drugstores and promoted the conversion to larger-format stores. As of 20 August, it had 1,123 drugstores. In addition, the company disclosed its monthly operating速報 for September, showing same-store sales up 2.4% year on year and marking the third consecutive month of higher sales. This supported the share price.
Meanwhile, Procrea Holdings announced the same day that it planned to submit to its board a proposal for Akita Bank, Iwate Bank and Aomori Michinoku Bank to begin discussions toward a management integration. The shares rebounded for the first time in 4 days following the report, amid growing expectations for expansion in scale as a regional banking group.
Advantest renewed its all-time listing high, set on 14 August, for the first time in about 1.5 months. Semiconductor-related stocks were bought after the SOX index rose in the U.S. market the previous day. Activity also increased in other semiconductor-related issues.