ANYCOLOR's Q1 Operating Profit Falls 8.8% as Cost of Sales Outpaces Revenue Threefold

Revenue grew 5.4%; cost of sales grew 17.7%

ANYCOLOR Inc. (TSE: 5032), the Tokyo-based operator of the Nijisanji and NIJISANJI EN VTuber groups, published non-consolidated results for the three months to July 31, 2026 on September 9, 2026 under Japanese GAAP. Revenue rose 5.4% to ¥16,620 million. Cost of sales climbed 17.7% to ¥9,145 million — more than three times the rate of revenue growth — so gross profit fell 6.6% to ¥7,474 million even as the top line grew. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 8.6% to ¥1,083 million. Operating profit fell 8.8% to ¥6,390 million, ordinary profit 8.8% to ¥6,384 million, and quarterly net profit 10.6% to ¥4,365 million, or ¥72.81 per share against ¥79.97.

The margin arithmetic is the whole story of the quarter. The gross margin fell to 45.0% from 50.7%, a decline of 5.7 percentage points, and the operating margin to 38.4% from 44.4%. The filing does not itemise what drove the cost increase. It gives the figure and no breakdown of it, and nothing here should be read as identifying a cause the company has not stated.

The comparison base is the hardest one the company has

The first quarter of FY4/2026, against which these figures are measured, was an exceptional one: revenue in that quarter grew 112.1% and operating profit 157.6%. A year-on-year decline of 8.8% in operating profit is therefore being struck against a period that had itself more than doubled. That does not make the margin compression disappear — the cost line is up in absolute terms, not merely up against an easy comparison — but it does frame the size of the drop.

This is a non-consolidated filing covering a single entity, so the bottom line is quarterly net profit rather than profit attributable to owners of a parent. Income taxes were ¥2,019 million against ¥2,114 million, down 4.5%, a smaller fall than the 8.8% decline in pre-tax profit — which is why net profit fell further than the lines above it. Diluted earnings per share were ¥72.58 against ¥79.64.

Reach grew while margin fell

The two operating metrics the company discloses both rose. VTubers belonging to Nijisanji and NIJISANJI EN numbered 181 at the end of the quarter, 16 more than a year earlier, and ANYCOLOR ID accounts — the account required to use the official store and fan club — reached 2,106 thousand, up 19.3%. The company describes the business as four domains: live streaming, mostly YouTube live video; commerce, meaning original goods and recorded-voice digital products drawn from intellectual property it owns; events, meaning music and other events featuring its VTubers; and promotion, meaning tie-up advertising, IP licensing and media appearances. The filing reports a single segment — the video-content-related business — and omits segment disclosure for that reason. Audience reach and talent count are growing; what is under pressure is what each yen of revenue keeps.

A tax payment and a dividend moved the balance sheet

Total assets were ¥36,873 million at July 31, 2026, up 1.0% from ¥36,502 million at the April 30 year-end. Current assets rose ¥328 million to ¥32,427 million and fixed assets ¥42 million to ¥4,446 million, but the composition changed sharply: cash and deposits fell ¥2,685 million while accounts receivable rose ¥2,942 million. On the other side, total liabilities — all of them current — fell ¥1,595 million to ¥7,943 million, as accrued income taxes fell ¥3,201 million and the bonus provision ¥544 million, against a ¥2,418 million rise in accounts payable.

Net assets rose ¥1,966 million to ¥28,930 million: the quarter's ¥4,365 million of profit less ¥2,398 million of dividends paid. With liabilities down and equity up, the equity ratio rose to 78.5% from 73.9%. Issued shares were unchanged at 61,128,029 and treasury shares stood at 1,177,131 against 1,177,106; the weighted-average count used for earnings per share was 59,950,919, about 1.13 million fewer than the 61,080,884 of a year earlier, which flatters the per-share figures slightly relative to the fall in profit.

Guidance is a range, and it is unchanged

Full-year FY4/2027 guidance is unchanged from the forecast published on June 10, 2026, and it is disclosed as a range rather than a point estimate — unusual enough to state plainly. Revenue is guided at ¥56,000 million to ¥60,000 million, a span of +0.6% to +7.8%; operating profit at ¥18,000 million to ¥20,000 million, −10.8% to −0.9%; ordinary profit at ¥18,000 million to ¥20,000 million, −10.9% to −1.0%; and net profit at ¥12,326 million to ¥13,696 million, −12.5% to −2.8%. Earnings per share are guided at ¥205.60 to ¥228.45, computed on the share count net of treasury stock at the FY4/2026 year-end. The shape of that guide matches the quarter: revenue flat to modestly higher, profit lower at both ends of the range.

The dividend follows the same direction. FY4/2027 is guided at ¥62.00 per share — ¥31.00 at the interim and ¥31.00 at the year-end — against ¥75.00 for FY4/2026, which was ¥35.00 plus ¥40.00, a reduction of 17.3%. No revision was made to that forecast with these results, so the lower indicated payout was set in June and is not a response to the quarter just reported.

JapanStockPulse provides informational content only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures are taken from the company's published earnings short report and may be subject to subsequent revision.