Keyence Corporation, the Osaka-based maker of factory sensors and machine-vision systems, reported a 51.0% jump in net profit for the first quarter of the fiscal year running to March 2027, as capital spending on automation equipment stayed strong in Asia and the Americas, with only tentative signs of recovery in Europe and at home in Japan. Net sales for the quarter, which ran from March 21 to June 20, 2026, rose 32.8% year-on-year to ¥346.6bn. Operating profit climbed 44.7% to ¥187.1bn, and profit attributable to parent-company shareholders reached ¥139.1bn, up from ¥92.1bn a year earlier.
| Metric | Quarter to June 2026 | Quarter to June 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | ¥346.6bn | ¥261.1bn | +32.8% |
| Operating profit | ¥187.1bn | ¥129.3bn | +44.7% |
| Ordinary profit | ¥196.8bn | ¥131.5bn | +49.6% |
| Net profit (parent shareholders) | ¥139.1bn | ¥92.1bn | +51.0% |
| Earnings per share | ¥573.69 | ¥379.82 | n/a |
| Annual dividend forecast | ¥550.00 | ¥550.00 | Unchanged |
Management's account of demand was uneven across regions, not a uniform rebound. Asia's growth was led by the semiconductor and electronic-precision industries, the company said, while the Americas saw broad-based demand across a range of industries. Europe showed only signs of recovery, and domestic capital spending in Japan was described as being on a recovering trend rather than full strength.
Keyence still reports as a single business segment built around electronic application equipment, so there is no country- or product-line breakdown to check which region actually drove the swing. Total assets rose ¥54.2bn over the quarter to ¥3.72tn, largely on an ¥84.0bn increase in investment securities. Liabilities fell ¥23.0bn to ¥176.1bn, driven mainly by a ¥42.4bn drop in income taxes payable. Net assets rose ¥77.3bn to ¥3.55tn, with retained earnings up ¥72.4bn, pushing the equity ratio to 95.3% from 94.6%.
Per-share earnings for the quarter were ¥573.69, up from ¥379.82 a year earlier. Keyence left its annual dividend forecast unchanged at ¥550 per share, split evenly between a ¥275 interim and a ¥275 year-end payment, matching the prior year's actual payout and its own earlier guidance.
One quirk worth flagging for readers outside Japan: Keyence's reporting quarter runs from March 21 to June 20, not the calendar second quarter, a fiscal calendar the company has used for years. The filing carries no external auditor review, and it includes no revised full-year sales or profit forecast, only the maintained dividend figure. Whether the strength in Asia and the Americas can carry the rest of the year to March 2027, or whether Europe and Japan catch up, is not addressed in this disclosure.