Fujiya's sales grew in the first half of the year, but the confectioner's own shareholders ended up looking at a loss. Consolidated net sales for the six months through June rose 4.8% year-on-year to ¥59.41bn, yet operating profit fell 75.3% to ¥297mn, and profit attributable to Fujiya's parent shareholders swung to a ¥74mn loss from an ¥836mn profit a year earlier.
The headline loss looks worse than the group's total picture. Consolidated interim net income, which includes earnings claimed by minority shareholders in Fujiya's subsidiaries, came in at ¥100mn, down from ¥1.03bn a year earlier but still positive. Non-controlling interests took ¥174mn of that total, leaving Fujiya's own shareholders on the losing side of the ledger.
Fujiya blamed the profit squeeze on rising prices for cacao beans and fats, plus depreciation tied to new equipment for its gummy-candy line and a newly built natural-water bottling plant. A same-day filing comparing February's forecast with actual results showed the scale of the miss: the company had expected operating profit of ¥700mn for the half, more than double the ¥297mn it delivered.
The confectionery segment, which includes the Country Ma'am cookie and Milky candy lines, grew sales 8.9% to ¥42.94bn even as input costs bit into margins. Western-style confectionery, sold through Fujiya's own cake shops and restaurants, saw sales fall 4.9% to ¥14.67bn as cost-conscious shoppers stayed away, though the company said store traffic has been recovering since June.
Group comprehensive income, boosted by foreign-currency translation gains, rose 137% to ¥614mn, a reminder that currency swings can mask pressure in the core business.
Fujiya left its full-year guidance unchanged: sales of ¥125bn and operating profit of ¥3.2bn, betting on stronger summer beverage shipments and calmer cacao and fat prices in the second half.