Okuwa Co., Ltd., the Tokyo Prime-listed supermarket chain, told investors on September 25 that it now expects a first-half loss rather than the profit it forecast in April, and has cut its full-year profit forecast by 92%. The earnings-forecast revision notice replaces guidance the company issued on April 6.
For the six months to August 20, Okuwa now forecasts consolidated operating revenue of ¥123.2bn, down from its prior forecast of ¥126.3bn, a 2.4% cut. Its revised forecast shows operating profit of negative ¥57mn, versus an expected ¥600mn gain, and net profit attributable to owners of the parent of negative ¥187mn, versus a forecast ¥300mn gain, a reduction of ¥487mn from the April plan. A year earlier, the same six-month period produced an actual profit of ¥248mn, so the revised forecast implies not just a miss against target but a year-on-year decline. The disclosure concerns Okuwa's own stores; it makes no claim about supermarket chains generally.
| Metric | H1 Previous | H1 Revised | Full Year Previous | Full Year Revised |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating revenue | ¥126.3bn | ¥123.2bn | ¥255.5bn | ¥250.8bn |
| Operating profit | ¥600mn | -¥57mn | ¥2.1bn | ¥1.3bn |
| Ordinary profit | ¥680mn | ¥13mn | ¥2.1bn | ¥1.3bn |
| Net profit (parent) | ¥300mn | -¥187mn | ¥650mn | ¥50mn |
Okuwa blames the shortfall mainly on its supermarket business. Promotional campaigns meant to draw shoppers back could not offset a sharper-than-expected pullback in spending: existing-store sales came in 2.3% below the company's initial plan, and customer counts and basket sizes improved only marginally despite the campaigns. On the cost side, gross margin fell 0.2 percentage points short of plan as raw-material prices climbed and currency swings kept purchase costs unstable, even as Okuwa pursued a pricing policy aimed at retaining customer support and competitiveness. Selling and administrative costs stayed broadly on plan, the company said, but cost discipline alone could not cover the revenue gap.
For the full year to February 2027, Okuwa now expects consolidated net profit of ¥50mn, down 92.3% from its April target of ¥650mn, on revenue of ¥250.8bn (down 1.8%) and operating and ordinary profit of ¥1.3bn each (down 38.1%). The company expects some improvement in the second half as its sales measures take hold, but it has also cut its second-half existing-store sales plan by 1.0% from the original budget. Labor and energy costs are still rising, Okuwa said, but those increases were already built into its original plan, and it intends to keep pushing efficiency gains and cost cuts.
Okuwa's own disclosure carries its standard caveat: the forecasts are based on information available as of September 25, and actual results may differ due to a range of future factors.