Koei Tecmo Holdings raised its profit guidance for the year to March 2027, but most of the lift sits below the operating line. Operating profit is now forecast at ¥34bn, up ¥2bn from the ¥32bn published on April 27. Ordinary profit is forecast at ¥51bn, up ¥9bn from ¥42bn.
Sales guidance rose to ¥91bn from ¥90bn. Net profit attributable to owners of the parent is now ¥37bn, up from ¥31bn, and earnings per share are ¥110.73, up from ¥95.38. The company cited three reasons: interim results that beat its original forecast, a revised full-year currency assumption, and current business and financial-market conditions. Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage
Still below last year
The upgrade does not lift the full-year outlook above the prior year. Last year's operating profit was ¥37.17bn, ordinary profit ¥57.0bn and net profit ¥42.83bn. The company's results summary shows the new guide implies declines of 8.5%, 10.5% and 13.6% in operating, ordinary and net profit.
Interim results
For the six months to September 30, sales rose 19.4% to ¥37.33bn and operating profit rose 47.4% to ¥11.74bn. Ordinary profit rose 43.4% to ¥25.52bn and net profit rose 38.1% to ¥18.60bn; the company said ordinary and net profit were interim-period records. It credited three package game releases and strong sales of last year's big title and the back catalogue for the operating gain, and said investment returns beat plan.
The income statement shows where the non-operating gain came from: interest income of ¥10.34bn against ¥5.46bn a year earlier, and a ¥4.17bn gain on sales of investment securities. A ¥2.41bn derivative valuation loss partly offset them.
Dividend
The board cut nothing and added ¥8: the year-end dividend forecast is ¥56 per share, up from ¥48. With no interim dividend, the annual total is also ¥56, against ¥66 last year. The company's stated policy is a total payout ratio of 50% including buybacks, or an annual dividend of ¥50 per share.