Gakken H1 Operating Profit Rises 2.8% to ¥4.67bn as Net Sales Top ¥104.9bn; Interim Net Profit Falls 14%

Gakken Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE: 9470) reported consolidated first-half (interim) results for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026 (FY9/2026 H1), covering the six months from October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, under Japanese GAAP. Net sales rose 6.1% year-on-year to ¥104,880 million, EBITDA — defined by the company as operating profit plus depreciation plus goodwill amortization — increased 5.8% to ¥7,037 million, and operating profit edged up 2.8% to ¥4,670 million. Ordinary profit climbed 5.7% to ¥4,450 million, helped by non-operating items. The headline figures here are first-half results, not full-year.

Interim net profit dips on a high prior-year base

Despite the gains at the operating and ordinary lines, interim net profit attributable to owners of the parent fell 14.0% to ¥2,086 million from ¥2,424 million a year earlier, when the figure had jumped 36.8%. Basic earnings per share came in at ¥50.31, down from ¥58.06, with diluted EPS of ¥50.04 (prior year: ¥57.68). Comprehensive income was broadly flat at ¥2,901 million (-1.2%). The decline at the bottom line reflects the elevated prior-year comparison rather than weakness in the underlying business, where both sales and operating profit advanced.

Education, Medical & Nursing Care, and Global

Gakken operates across three broad areas — its Education business (publishing, learning materials, cram schools and tutoring), its Medical & Nursing Care business (serviced senior housing, day services and related care operations), and a Global business. Top-line growth of 6.1% in the half points to continued expansion in the nursing-care operations, which have become a major pillar of the group alongside its traditional education and publishing roots. During the interim period the company added Paramedical Co., Ltd. to its scope of consolidation as a newly consolidated subsidiary, expanding the group's footprint in the medical and care-related field.

Balance sheet and dividend

Total assets stood at ¥149,188 million at the interim balance-sheet date, up from ¥139,194 million at the prior fiscal year-end, while net assets rose to ¥60,933 million from ¥59,471 million. The equity ratio eased to 35.6% from 36.9%, with shareholders' equity of ¥53,152 million. On capital returns, Gakken raised its interim dividend to ¥14.50 per share from ¥13.00 a year earlier and guides a matching ¥14.50 year-end payout, lifting the planned full-year dividend to ¥29.00 from ¥26.00 — there has been no revision to the previously announced dividend forecast.

Full-year FY9/2026 guidance held unchanged

Management left its full-year FY9/2026 forecast intact: net sales of ¥205,000 million (+3.0%), EBITDA of ¥13,500 million (+4.0%), operating profit of ¥8,500 million (+3.2%), ordinary profit of ¥8,300 million (+6.3%), and net profit attributable to owners of ¥4,000 million (+11.8%), equivalent to EPS of ¥96.77. With ¥4,670 million of operating profit booked in the first half, the group has reached roughly 55% of its full-year operating-profit target at the interim stage. The company noted that there had been no revision to its previously published earnings forecast, and that the interim results are not subject to review by a certified public accountant or audit firm.

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