PR TIMES has raised the minimum it will pay shareholders from 2% of equity to 9%, and its dividend forecast for the year to February 2027 rises from ¥16.80 to ¥74.30 a share. The board approved the change on 14 October 2026, according to the company's notice on its dividend policy and capital allocation.
What changes now
The ordinary-dividend standard, measured as dividend on equity (DOE), moves from "2% or more" to "9% or more" from the year to February 2027. The company calls for ordinary dividends to be progressive in principle, meaning the annual per-share ordinary dividend is held or raised unless results or finances change materially. DOE is calculated as total annual ordinary dividends divided by average consolidated equity at the start and end of the year.
The forecast of ¥74.30 is all a year-end payment. The previous forecast, issued on 13 April 2026, was ¥16.80. The company paid ¥13.80 for the year to February 2026 and has paid no interim dividend this year.
From the year to February 2028 the company will add an interim dividend, set at roughly 50% of the prior year's annual ordinary dividend. The year-end payment will be adjusted so the annual DOE standard and the progressive rule are met. Special dividends are excluded from the progressive-dividend baseline for later years.
The ¥4.5bn envelope and the conditional return
The board also set an M&A and strategic investment envelope of ¥4.5bn for fiscal 2026 to 2030. The company says it will return at least 50% of whatever is unspent at the end of fiscal 2030, in principle, as a special dividend.
The amount and timing are not fixed. The company says it will decide after weighing the liquidity needed to run the business, confirmed investment and payment obligations, and legally distributable funds, and will announce the decision promptly. It also says it will keep in mind the differing interests of the controlling shareholder and minority shareholders, using the shared interest of all shareholders as its yardstick.
The envelope is not a spending target. The company says it will not invest if a deal fails its criteria, even with room left, and that it may exceed ¥4.5bn if a deal passes them.
Context the company gives
PR TIMES first set a dividend policy in December 2024, with DOE of 2% or more. It reports return on equity of 30.0% and operating cash flow of ¥3.41bn for the year to February 2026. It says it targets ROE of 25% or more over the medium to long term. If ROE falls below 15%, it will examine the causes and act, and it will consider extra returns on surplus capital with no specific use.
The company also says its 2024 dividend announcement had pointed to profitability in its SaaS business, including Jooto. Jooto did not improve enough, and in August 2026 the company decided to end general availability and exit the business. It lists general availability as ending on 31 July 2027. It calls the time taken to decide an internal management issue.