Unicharm's sales for the nine months to September 2026 rose 5.1% to ¥729.3bn and core operating profit rose 3.3% to ¥89.5bn, but profit attributable to owners of the parent fell 6.6% to ¥56.7bn. Profit before tax slipped 0.7% to ¥92.8bn. The prior-year period included ¥5.3bn of insurance income from a 2020 fire at its Ahmedabad plant in India, and the company's results presentation describes the decline below the pre-tax line as a temporary effect of that income and its tax effects.
Pet care grows, Asia lags
Pet-care sales rose 13.0% to ¥127.8bn and segment core profit rose 12.4% to ¥21.7bn. Personal care, the largest segment, grew sales 3.4% to ¥590.4bn, while its core profit was flat at ¥66.4bn. The company credits cat wet treats in North America, where sales rose 10% excluding currency effects.
Asia was the weak spot. Asian sales rose 1.7% to ¥296.6bn, but core operating profit fell 18.3% to ¥12.3bn. Excluding currency effects, China sales fell 17% and Thailand 7%. The company says defensive consumer spending left parts of Asian baby care polarised and that China's recovery from reputational damage is slower than expected. Its presentation says Asia was effectively flat year on year excluding a ¥2.7bn India GST valuation loss.
Brazil joins the group
On June 30, Unicharm's Brazilian subsidiary acquired all equity in pet-food maker Nutrire Indústria de Alimentos, one of two newly consolidated subsidiaries. Cash consideration was ¥22.6bn, with ¥19.2bn booked as goodwill. Both figures are provisional because the purchase price allocation is unfinished, and the price may change with working-capital adjustments.
Full-year guidance is unchanged at ¥1.015tn in sales and ¥70.0bn in attributable profit. The nine-month figure equals 81.0% of that profit target.