B-R 31 Ice Cream, the Japanese operator of the Baskin-Robbins chain, called its first-half sales the highest in the company's history. Consolidated sales for the six months to June came in at ¥18.55bn, up from ¥15.82bn a year earlier, while operating profit dropped to ¥1.42bn from ¥1.70bn and net profit attributable to shareholders fell to ¥984mn from ¥1.09bn.
Management's explanation is a familiar one this earnings season: strong demand, expensive inputs. Same-store sales rose for a 21st consecutive quarter, up 6.6% in value terms in the first half, according to the investor presentation released alongside the results. Domestic retail sales, the total rung up across franchised and company-run outlets, reached a record ¥34.98bn. New flavors under the "31 Patisserie" cake line, tie-ins with Super Mario Galaxy and Dragon Quest, and an April refresh of the store logo and layout all featured in management's account of what drew customers in. The 31Club loyalty app, whose membership passed 11.8 million, now accounts for 45.4% of total sales.
On the cost side, cost of sales rose to ¥9.66bn from ¥7.69bn, climbing faster than revenue. The company attributes the increase to raw-material inflation and the weaker yen. Gross margin narrowed by 3.5 percentage points to 47.9%. Selling, general and administrative costs rose ¥1.03bn to ¥7.46bn, as B-R 31 spent more on digital advertising, mobile-order promotion, and the shipping costs that come with sending more product to more stores.
| Metric | H1 2026 | H1 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | ¥18.55bn | ¥15.82bn |
| Cost of sales | ¥9.66bn | ¥7.69bn |
| Gross profit | ¥8.89bn | ¥8.12bn |
| Gross margin | 47.9% | 51.4% |
| Operating profit | ¥1.42bn | ¥1.70bn |
| Ordinary profit | ¥1.53bn | ¥1.69bn |
| Net profit (parent) | ¥984mn | ¥1.09bn |
Despite the profit decline, B-R 31 left its full-year forecast unchanged from the guidance it issued on February 9, saying results remain on track against that plan. The company is also pushing overseas: alongside its existing stores in Taiwan and Hawaii, it is starting an export business into Malaysia this month, following an earlier launch in Indonesia. Management's longer-range target, laid out in the same presentation, is pretax profit of ¥3.1bn by 2031, more than double the ¥1.51bn it booked before tax in the first half of 2026.