ITO EN managed revenue growth in the year ended April 30, but nearly every line below sales looked less cheerful. Revenue rose to ¥497,877 million, operating profit slipped to ¥21,684 million, ordinary profit edged up to ¥23,267 million, and net income attributable to owners of parent fell to ¥3,466 million from ¥14,156 million a year earlier. Comprehensive income dropped 41.0% to ¥7,845 million, after a 30.8% decline in the prior year.
Margins, not volumes, were the problem
The supporting presentation points more to margin pressure than to a collapse in volume. Gross profit slipped by ¥220 million to ¥179,417 million, and gross margin fell to 36.0% from 38.0%. Transport costs rose to ¥15,466 million, while advertising fell to ¥11,617 million and depreciation to ¥5,938 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses still rose 0.7% to ¥157,733 million, which left operating profit down 5.6%.
The presentation also shows a mixed demand picture. Standalone drink volumes rose 1%, with tea-based beverages up 3%, barley tea up 11% and coffee up 6%, but green tea slipped 1% and vegetable beverages fell 7%. That happened in a domestic beverage market that ITO EN says grew 1.8% in calendar 2025 and is forecast to grow 1.7% in 2026, with unsweetened drinks accounting for more than 50% of the market. ITO EN says more than 75% of its own drink mix is unsweetened.
Dividend up, cash down
The punchiest number in the filing may be the dividend. ITO EN raised its annual common dividend to 48.00 yen per share from 44.00 yen, taking the disclosed payout ratio to 178.6%. Cash flow was less generous: operating cash flow fell to ¥11,301 million from ¥18,038 million, investing cash outflow was ¥11,072 million, financing cash outflow was ¥16,609 million, and cash and cash equivalents at year-end dropped to ¥71,080 million from ¥85,565 million.
Management's guide for the current year is not especially exuberant. The company forecast sales of ¥500,000 million, operating profit of ¥20,000 million, ordinary profit of ¥20,500 million, net income of ¥11,430 million and annual common dividends of 52.00 yen per share.
What remains unclear
The main missing piece in the supplied excerpt is the bridge from ordinary profit to net income. The release gives the headline numbers, and the presentation shows cost and mix pressure, but the excerpt does not set out a full below-the-line explanation for the 75.5% drop in net income. That gap is real, and readers should treat it as unresolved rather than fill it with guesswork.