Saijo is guiding for a much sharper rise in profit than in sales in the year to August 2026. In the disclosure released alongside its June 29 TOKYO PRO Market listing, the retailer forecast sales up 2.0% to ¥14.729bn and operating profit up 74.4% to ¥144mn, saying stronger fresh-food sales and tighter inventory should reduce markdown pressure even as items sold and customer counts decline.
| Metric | Year to Aug. 2026 forecast | Year to Aug. 2025 actual | Six months to Feb. 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | ¥14.729bn | ¥14.442bn | ¥7.173bn |
| Operating profit | ¥144mn | ¥83mn | ¥79mn |
| Ordinary profit | ¥186mn | ¥171mn | ¥121mn |
| Net profit | ¥120mn | ¥27mn | ¥77mn |
| Dividend per share | ¥3.50 | ¥3.50 | ¥0.00 |
Higher prices, lower volumes
Management describes the backdrop in plain terms. Prices per item and spending per customer are rising, but sales volumes and customer numbers are falling as shoppers become more frugal. Saijo says clothing and home-related goods are slightly weaker, while fresh food is growing faster and contributing to both sales and gross profit. Inventory reductions are also helping limit price cuts.
Costs are still rising
The company is not describing an easy year. Saijo says labour costs are running above plan because it is adding staff to fresh-food sections to improve product supply. Listing-related expenses are rising, and higher electricity and gas charges are pushing up utilities. Even so, the full-year forecast still puts selling, general and administrative expenses at ¥3.63bn, down 0.4% from the previous year, with ordinary profit at ¥186mn and net profit at ¥120mn. That net profit figure includes an expected ¥32mn loss on a land sale.
What the first-half numbers show, and what they do not
For the six months to February 2026, Saijo reported sales of ¥7.173bn, operating profit of ¥79mn, ordinary profit of ¥121mn and net profit of ¥77mn. Total assets were ¥10.572bn and net assets were ¥5.124bn, lifting the equity ratio to 48.5% from 47.8% at the previous year-end. The company also kept its annual dividend forecast at ¥3.50 per share.
There are two important caveats. Saijo says it did not prepare interim financial statements for the comparable period a year earlier, so the filing provides no official year-on-year comparison for the half-year figures. It also says the interim earnings release was not reviewed by a certified public accountant or audit firm.