B&P's half-year numbers were neither a blowout nor a collapse. Revenue for the six months ended April 30 rose to 2,249 million yen on the company's disclosed comparison, while operating profit fell 4.5% to 336 million yen, ordinary profit fell 6.3% to 336 million yen, and net profit fell 5.0% to 230 million yen. Management left its full-year forecast unchanged at 5,000 million yen in sales, 750 million yen in operating profit and 504 million yen in net profit, with progress at 45.0%, 44.8% and 45.8% respectively.
| Metric | First half result | Disclosed change | Full-year plan | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 2,249 million yen | +5.2% | 5,000 million yen | 45.0% |
| Gross profit | 970 million yen | +5.2% | 2,115 million yen | 45.9% |
| Operating profit | 336 million yen | -4.5% | 750 million yen | 44.8% |
| Ordinary profit | 336 million yen | -6.3% | 750 million yen | 44.8% |
| Net profit | 230 million yen | -5.0% | 504 million yen | 45.8% |
Readers should treat those comparison lines with some care. B&P says subsidiary Idei was deemed acquired on December 20, 2024, so in the prior year's first quarter only the balance sheet was consolidated and Idei's profit and loss were included from the second quarter. In other words, the company is publishing growth rates, but it also notes that the half-year comparison is not perfectly like for like.
Management's explanation for the uneven half is fairly specific. Inkjet printing, the group's main business, usually slows around the year-end period, last year's base was lifted by demand tied to Osaka-Kansai Expo-related work, and some domestic clients temporarily curbed promotion spending amid inflation. The second quarter then improved as customers stepped up sales-promotion activity ahead of the March year-end, and B&P says March produced record sales and operating profit for the standalone company.
That leaves the second half doing more of the heavy lifting. The company says demand should come from promotional work tied to international sports events including the FIFA World Cup and the Asian Games, city-dressing and event projects, several large digital-signage opportunities, and continued growth in print solutions, order goods and the new package-solution business. It also plans to integrate its Tokyo headquarters, Yokohama Factory and Idei's Tokyo office into a new Tokyo base from July through August. At end-April, cash and deposits stood at 3,254 million yen, down 90 million yen from end-October, and the equity ratio was 83.4%.