EDION, the Tokyo-listed electronics retailer, raised its full-year operating profit forecast to ¥36bn from ¥27bn on 5 November. The company credits air conditioners and other seasonal goods for a half-year that beat its own forecast.
Heat did the early work
In the six months to September, sales were ¥416.4bn against a forecast of ¥400bn, and operating profit was ¥23.85bn against a forecast of ¥14.7bn. Operating profit rose 73.0% from a year earlier.
The company says average temperatures ran above normal through the period, and that replacement demand linked to the "2027 problem" also contributed. Its results summary adds that above-normal April and May temperatures brought the air-conditioner season forward, and that sales stayed strong from July. The release does not define the "2027 problem" or say how much of the sales it accounts for.
The forecast, and the caution
Full-year sales are now forecast at ¥832.3bn (previously ¥816bn) and net profit attributable to owners of the parent at ¥22.5bn (previously ¥15.7bn).
EDION still describes the outlook as uncertain, citing domestic consumption, and says it needs a cautious view. It raised the forecast on the strength of the half-year result and recent trends. Not every category helped: PC sales fell sharply from a year earlier, which the company ties to the previous year's replacement demand and to higher memory prices.
Shareholders also get a lift. The interim dividend is ¥30 per share, up from the ¥25 previously forecast, and the year-end forecast is ¥35, for a ¥65 total against ¥48 a year earlier.