Marudai Food has cut its operating profit forecast for the six months to September 2026 to ¥1.45bn from ¥4.3bn, a 66.3% reduction from the guidance it published on 14 May. Sales are barely changed by comparison: the revised forecast is ¥121.7bn against ¥123bn previously, a 1.1% cut.
A small sales miss, a large profit gap
The company said meat sales ran as expected, helped by higher market prices. Processed food, centred on ham and sausage, sold below plan and was flat on the previous year, which pulled the sales forecast down.
Profit took the bigger hit. Marudai Food said raw material and other costs rose somewhat more than it had assumed. It is raising prices while watching the market, but progress is slower than first planned and the effect will take time to appear. Sales volumes also fell in some categories, including ham and sausage.
The company split the ¥2.85bn fall in operating profit against the earlier forecast into three parts: ¥1.4bn from unit prices, ¥900mn from volume and product mix, and ¥550mn from other factors.
| Item | Previous forecast | Revised forecast | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | 123,000 | 121,700 | -1.1 |
| Operating profit | 4,300 | 1,450 | -66.3 |
| Ordinary profit | 4,500 | 1,700 | -62.2 |
| Profit attributable to owners of parent | 3,200 | 1,500 | -53.1 |
The rest of the P&L
Ordinary profit is now forecast at ¥1.7bn, down 62.2% from the earlier ¥4.5bn. Profit attributable to owners of the parent is forecast at ¥1.5bn, down 53.1% from ¥3.2bn. Earnings per share are forecast at ¥62.43 against ¥133.16 before.
Against the same period a year earlier, the company's own reference figures show first-half sales of ¥120.29bn, operating profit of ¥4.21bn and attributable profit of ¥3.19bn. The 66.3% figure measures the change from May guidance, not from last year's result.
Full year still open
Marudai Food said it is still reviewing its full-year forecast for the year to March 2027, including how far price rises will progress. It plans to publish the revised annual outlook on 9 November, together with its first-half results. The notice gives no revised annual figure.