Rokko Butter, the Kobe-based maker of processed cheese and nut snacks, has cut its operating-profit forecast for the year ending December 2026 by ¥800mn, a 34.8% reduction from the guidance it issued in February. The company left its sales forecast unchanged at ¥55bn but lowered ordinary-profit guidance by 27.3% to ¥1.6bn and net profit attributable to owners of the parent by 6.7% to ¥1.4bn, trimming projected earnings per share to ¥72.44 from ¥76.99.
| Metric | Previous Forecast | Revised Forecast | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | ¥55.0bn | ¥55.0bn | Unchanged |
| Operating profit | ¥2.3bn | ¥1.5bn | -34.8% |
| Ordinary profit | ¥2.2bn | ¥1.6bn | -27.3% |
| Net profit (parent) | ¥1.5bn | ¥1.4bn | -6.7% |
| Earnings per share | ¥76.99 | ¥72.44 | - |
The company pointed to three pressures. Raw-material prices across its cheese and nut divisions rose by more than 10% on average, which it linked to the deteriorating Middle East situation. The yen also traded roughly ¥10 weaker than the rate Rokko Butter had assumed when it drew up its original plan; the filing does not specify against which currency. On top of that, a July earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture halted production at a consolidated subsidiary's factory in Mashiki, and the company expects lost sales until the line is restored.
To recover some of the margin, Rokko Butter plans to raise prices on some products from September. The revised forecast also folds in a ¥474mn gain the company booked from selling two listed shareholdings on July 13 and 16, part of a broader move to unwind cross-shareholdings and improve capital efficiency.
The guidance cut arrived alongside interim results covering January through June, when Rokko Butter posted sales of ¥26.9bn, operating profit of ¥785mn and net income of ¥613mn. Cheese sales reached ¥21.3bn with a segment profit of ¥598mn, while the nuts business, sold through partner Mitsuya, brought in ¥5.6bn in sales and ¥174mn in profit. The company also bought back 1,099,400 shares for ¥1.2bn in May, lifting treasury stock to ¥3.5bn by the half-year mark.
On the Kumamoto damage, Rokko Butter said an assessment is still under way and that it cannot yet reasonably estimate the earthquake's effect on this year's results. How much of that disruption, and how much of the planned September price increases, feed through to the numbers will not be clear until the next set of results.