Rokko Butter, the processed-cheese maker behind the Q·B·B brand, has cut its full-year operating profit forecast by 35%, to ¥1.5bn from an original plan of ¥2.3bn. Ordinary profit guidance drops 27% to ¥1.6bn, and net profit attributable to owners falls 7% to ¥1.4bn. Sales guidance is unchanged at ¥55.0bn.
| Metric | Original plan | Revised plan | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | ¥55.0bn | ¥55.0bn | +0% |
| Operating profit | ¥2.3bn | ¥1.5bn | -35% |
| Ordinary profit | ¥2.2bn | ¥1.6bn | -27% |
| Net profit (owners) | ¥1.5bn | ¥1.4bn | -7% |
The cut follows a first half that beat its sales plan but missed on profit. Revenue for the six months came in at ¥26.9bn, 2% ahead of the ¥26.5bn plan, but operating profit was ¥785mn against a ¥1.1bn target, a 29% miss. The nuts segment, which includes the newly consolidated Mitsuya Group, fell furthest short: profit of ¥174mn against a ¥400mn plan, a 57% miss. The core cheese segment fell 13% short of its plan at ¥597mn, though that still beat the ¥480mn the business posted in the same period a year earlier.
Management attributes the pressure to packaging-material prices that have climbed more than 10% on average, which it links to deteriorating conditions in the Middle East, alongside a yen that traded more than ¥10 weaker than the rate assumed when the plan was set, and rising labor costs. A July earthquake in Kumamoto compounded the problem by halting production at a factory operated by a Mitsuya Group subsidiary, the company said.
Rokko Butter says it will raise prices on some products from September to help close the gap, and it has already booked a ¥474mn gain from an investment-securities sale into the revised plan. Even so, the company acknowledges that profit through the second year of its mid-term plan looks "very difficult" against its original targets, which call for ¥62bn in revenue and ¥4.3bn in operating profit by the year ending December 2027.