Tokyo Metro carried 2.8% more passengers in the six months to September 2026, yet operating profit fell 1.6% to ¥49.2bn because costs grew faster than revenue. Operating revenue rose 3.2% to ¥217.3bn, while operating costs rose 4.7% to ¥168.0bn.
Costs outran fares
Passenger revenue rose 3.0% to ¥181.0bn on 1.331bn journeys. Commuter-pass journeys rose 3.0% and non-commuter journeys 2.5%. In the company's operating-profit bridge, revenue added ¥6.7bn, of which passenger revenue contributed ¥5.2bn. Costs added ¥7.5bn: personnel ¥1.6bn, other expenses ¥4.4bn and depreciation ¥1.4bn. Within expenses, repairs rose ¥1.3bn, outsourcing ¥1.1bn and electricity ¥0.6bn.
The transport segment carried the squeeze. Its revenue rose 2.3%, but segment operating profit fell 4.8% to ¥40.7bn.
Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 16.3% to ¥29.2bn from ¥34.9bn. Tokyo Metro attributes the fall in part to a one-off retirement-benefit plan revision gain booked in the first quarter of the prior year. Ordinary profit fell by a smaller 2.8%, to ¥43.1bn.
Guidance held, with a revenue shortfall
Tokyo Metro left its April 28 full-year forecast unchanged: revenue of ¥437.2bn, operating profit of ¥81.4bn (down 9.1%) and net profit of ¥50.0bn (down 15.3%). It says profit at each level is progressing broadly as planned. The interim dividend is ¥22 and the full-year forecast stays at ¥44.
The passenger-revenue line is the exception. The presentation says the ¥365.0bn full-year forecast will not be reached, citing fewer visitors from outside the Tokyo area and weather. Personnel costs ran below plan on fewer overtime hours, while electricity ran above plan, which the company links to the Middle East situation. The April forecast reproduced in the presentation does not include any Middle East effect, which the company said it was still examining.
The warning on the year to March 2028
The presentation adds a forward warning that the interim release does not carry. Rail operating costs in the year to March 2028 are expected to exceed the level in this year's forecast, driven by higher expenses and personnel costs. Tokyo Metro expects labor and material inflation to lift expenses other than electricity, and wage improvements to lift personnel costs. It calls the electricity outlook uncertain, including the chance that the Middle East effect lasts longer.
On revenue, the company says it will judge the year to March 2028 in light of current conditions. On profit, it says consolidated operating profit may fall below this year's forecast, given passenger revenue and labor and material costs. It therefore calls achieving the targets set when the medium-term plan was drawn up "extremely difficult".
| Metric | Forecast, year to March 2027 | Plan target, year to March 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidated operating profit | ¥81.4bn | ¥93.0bn |
| Consolidated EBITDA | ¥157.7bn | ¥174.0bn |
| Consolidated ROE | 6.7% | 7.7% |
| Net debt/EBITDA | 6.5x | 6.3x |
This is a statement of risk. Tokyo Metro has not revised any forecast, and the 2028 figures remain the original plan targets.
Dividend and fares
Tokyo Metro still aims to lift the dividend to ¥46 a share for the year to March 2028, up ¥2, under a policy of holding dividend on equity at about 3.4%. The presentation also lists a fare revision, aimed for March 2029 and conditional on management effort, among four management themes. It gives no fare level.