Hakuhodo DY Holdings, Japan's second-largest advertising group, booked a 19.4% rise in first-quarter operating profit to ¥3.02bn for the three months to June 2026, as domestic finance and technology clients ramped up ad spending even as North America stayed soft.
Revenue under the current accounting standard rose 3.8% to ¥176.22bn, with ordinary profit up 4.6% to ¥3.04bn. The parent company's net loss narrowed to ¥1.76bn from ¥1.82bn a year earlier. Hakuhodo DY also reports a supplementary sales figure, ¥364.3bn for the quarter, up 7.5%; management says the older measure remains useful for tracking the business even though it no longer appears in the statutory consolidated accounts under current revenue-recognition rules.
| Metric | Q1 value | Year-on-year |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (recognized) | ¥176.22bn | +3.8% |
| Operating profit | ¥3.02bn | +19.4% |
| Ordinary profit | ¥3.04bn | +4.6% |
| Net loss attributable to parent | -¥1.76bn | narrowed from -¥1.82bn |
| Domestic operating profit | ¥16.24bn | +16.4% |
| Overseas operating loss | -¥3.75bn | widened from -¥2.31bn |
Domestic ad demand was the bright spot. Operating profit from Japan operations climbed 16.4% to ¥16.24bn, powered by television, which grew 7.3%, and internet media, up a sharp 17.0%. By client industry, information and telecom spending jumped 24.2% and finance and insurance rose 19.7%, while transport and leisure clients and public-sector bodies cut back. The quarter's domestic gains also reflect the continued inclusion of subsidiary Digital Holdings in the consolidated group; the comparison flatters this year's numbers because the subsidiary was not yet part of results in the same quarter last year, though the filing notes no further change to its consolidation scope took place during the April-June period itself.
Overseas remained the drag. Revenue there edged up just 1.5% to ¥47.86bn and gross profit fell 3.1% to ¥24.53bn, as the top line in North America stayed sluggish. The overseas operating loss widened to ¥3.75bn from ¥2.31bn a year earlier. Hakuhodo DY's filing does not attribute the overseas weakness to any region beyond North America, so readers should not read the softness as evidence of a broader retreat by international clients.
Management left its full-year outlook unchanged: revenue of ¥910bn, operating profit of ¥46.7bn (up 4.5%) and net profit attributable to shareholders of ¥26bn, a projected 55% jump from the prior year. The dividend forecast also stays at ¥32 per share for the year, split evenly between the interim and final payments.
For advertisers and media buyers, the quarter is a reminder that Japan's domestic ad market is being pulled along by two industries with cash to spend, telecom and technology, and finance, while the group's North American exposure is still working through a slow patch that management has not yet resolved with a guidance cut.