Kameda Seika cut its full-year operating profit forecast to ¥5.5bn from ¥8.3bn on 2 November, a 33.7% reduction, for the year ending March 2027. Net sales guidance moved only slightly, to ¥142bn from ¥143bn. The company set the earlier forecast on 13 May 2026.
| Item | Previous forecast | Revised forecast | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | ¥143bn | ¥142bn | −0.7% |
| Operating profit | ¥8.3bn | ¥5.5bn | −33.7% |
| Ordinary profit | ¥7.7bn | ¥5.1bn | −33.8% |
| Net profit attributable to owners | ¥4.3bn | ¥2.5bn | −41.9% |
The company's net profit forecast fell to ¥2.5bn from ¥4.3bn, and earnings per share to ¥39.53 from ¥67.99. The dividend forecast is unchanged.
Staffing, not demand, at TH FOODS
The biggest drag is in North America. Kameda Seika says staff turnover in some processes at its subsidiary TH FOODS, INC. ran above expectations, production efficiency fell and the unit could not supply all it could sell. Demand for its products remains firm, the company says, but the supply limit meant lost sales opportunities.
Management gives two background causes: a worse working environment as summer temperatures rose, and a changed hiring and retention climate as nearby companies raised wages. It adds that a shift in sales mix under limited capacity also hurt profitability. TH FOODS' earnings worsened because of lower production efficiency and extra costs.
The company says it is reviewing wage levels, stepping up hiring, training staff and running measures to lift efficiency across the production lines. It expects the effects to phase in from the fourth quarter. Kameda Seika treats restoring supply as its top priority. The notice does not quantify the lost sales or the additional costs. Its Asian subsidiaries are broadly on plan.
Japan: price rises, then lower volumes
At home, the rice-cracker market is holding up, Kameda Seika says, but raw material and energy costs, which it traces to the Middle East situation, keep climbing. It raised prices from October 2026, mainly on its focus brands. Volumes have since dropped, and the company expects the full effect of the price rises from the fourth quarter.
The food business is running ahead of plan on operating profit, helped by long-life emergency food and functional ingredients.
What the first half showed
The interim results, published the same day for the six months to September 2026, show the staffing problem already in the numbers. Group net sales rose 4.9% to ¥69.0bn and operating profit rose 24.1% to ¥2.47bn. Overseas operating profit fell 95.0% to ¥18mn on sales up 4.8%, while domestic rice-cracker operating profit rose 72.6% to ¥2.29bn.
In North America, sales at TH FOODS fell in local-currency terms and rose in yen terms. Club-store and own-brand demand held up, but production could not keep pace, according to the company.
Net profit attributable to owners fell 93.4% to ¥1.48bn. The prior-year period included a ¥20.6bn gain on the step acquisition of TH FOODS.
The interim dividend is ¥5 and the full-year forecast is ¥24, after a three-for-one share split on 1 April 2026. Kameda Seika holds an investor briefing on 13 November. The recovery timing is management's expectation, and the company says its forecasts are not a promise that they will be achieved.