Koito Manufacturing's first-half operating profit came in at ¥30.7bn against the ¥25bn it had forecast, a beat of 22.9%. The full-year operating profit guide moved up by far less: from ¥60bn to ¥61bn, or 1.7%, according to the company's guidance revision notice.
Where the beat came from
Sales for the six months to September 2026 were ¥478.2bn, 5.1% above forecast, and net profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥22.4bn against ¥16bn expected. Koito credits currency translation, higher new orders and rationalization work in each region. Against the same period a year earlier, the earnings release shows sales up 7.0% and operating profit up 54.8%.
Why the upgrade is small
For the second half, Koito cites geopolitical risk, including the Middle East, and uncertain economic conditions across countries. It has built a cautious view into the plan, and says the second-half forecast is slightly below its original plan. The earnings release adds that resin prices have risen and that electronic component prices are expected to hit profit hard from the second half.
Full-year guidance now stands at sales of ¥955bn (previously ¥933bn), ordinary profit of ¥67.5bn (¥65.5bn) and net profit of ¥43bn (¥39.5bn). The forecast assumes ¥155.0 to the dollar and ¥22.8 to the yuan. Koito is also rebuilding its China production to match demand, including dissolving a China unit (Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage).
Dividend raised
The board set the interim dividend at ¥32 a share against a ¥28 forecast, and lifted the year-end forecast to ¥32 from ¥30. The annual forecast is ¥64, up ¥6 from the earlier ¥58.