Otsuka Corporation, the Tokyo-based reseller of business IT hardware, software and support services, posted its fourth consecutive record interim result and used the occasion to raise both its full-year profit targets and its dividend, a pairing that points to durable corporate spending on AI tools, security software and office productivity systems even as the wider economy wobbles.
Sales for the six months to June 30 rose 9.0% to ¥757.5bn, with operating profit up 8.0% to ¥53.1bn and net profit attributable to shareholders up 8.4% to ¥37.0bn. The systems integration business, which sells packaged software alongside network and hardware installation work, grew fastest at ¥536.7bn (up 9.5%), while the recurring-revenue Service & Support division, built around office-supply subscriptions and support contracts, rose 7.7% to ¥220.8bn.
Management pointed to steady corporate software investment aimed at raising productivity, sharpening competitiveness and cutting costs through automation and digitalization. It described the push in two halves: "offense DX," building data infrastructure so clients can put AI to work, and "defense DX," hardening security and network infrastructure, plus AI packages priced for small and mid-size customers who might otherwise skip the technology.
Guidance and the dividend both move up
Otsuka raised its full-year sales forecast to ¥1.38tn from ¥1.31tn, an increase of ¥68.0bn, and lifted operating profit guidance to ¥94.3bn from ¥90.0bn. Net profit guidance rose to ¥64.9bn from ¥61.1bn, an increase of ¥3.77bn.
| Metric | Previous Forecast | Revised Forecast | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | ¥1.31tn | ¥1.38tn | +¥68.0bn (+5.2%) |
| Operating profit | ¥90.0bn | ¥94.3bn | +¥4.3bn (+4.8%) |
| Ordinary profit | ¥90.1bn | ¥96.1bn | +¥6.0bn (+6.7%) |
| Net profit attributable to shareholders | ¥61.1bn | ¥64.9bn | +¥3.77bn (+6.2%) |
The dividend increase moves in step. Otsuka raised its interim payout to ¥55.00 per share from a previously forecast ¥50.00, and its year-end payout to ¥50.00 from ¥45.00, taking the full-year total to ¥105.00, up ¥15.00 from the ¥90.00 paid for the year ended December 2025.
A smaller caveat inside the numbers
Comprehensive income, which folds securities valuation swings and pension adjustments in alongside reported profit, grew just 0.2% to ¥37.1bn in the first half, a sharp slowdown from the 36.1% jump recorded in the same period a year earlier. That gap suggests the record headline profit was driven mainly by operating performance rather than one-off valuation gains, a distinction worth keeping in mind for anyone using Otsuka's numbers as a proxy for broader Japanese corporate tech demand rather than market movements.
Otsuka flagged risks to its outlook: a prolonged Middle East conflict, US trade and diplomatic policy, and a global memory-chip supply shortage could all weigh on IT spending into year-end, even as it expects Japan's improving employment and wage environment to keep supporting corporate investment. That balance between a raised forecast and named external risks is the more useful signal for readers tracking enterprise software and AI-services demand out of Japan than the record result on its own.