Gakken Holdings (9470) Q1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Net sales rose 7.5% year-over-year to ¥45.9B, driven by recovery in publishing, group expansion in education, and new business consolidations in healthcare.

• Operating profit declined 22.6% year-over-year to ¥647 million due to higher costs in healthcare and nursing, despite cost controls.

• Net profit attributable to owners of parent was ¥813 million, a significant turnaround from a ¥38 million loss in the prior year, mainly from the absence of prior-year losses and a gain on step acquisition.

Financial highlights

• Ordinary profit dropped 48.6% year-over-year to ¥528 million, impacted by lower operating profit and reduced equity in earnings.

• EBITDA declined 10.5% year-over-year to ¥1.58B, reflecting lower operating profit and increased goodwill amortization.

• Gross profit increased to ¥11,645 million from ¥11,059 million year-over-year.

• Comprehensive income reached ¥1,031 million, up from a loss of ¥77 million a year earlier.

• Total assets increased 5.0% to ¥137.2B, but the equity ratio decreased to 36.9%.

Outlook and guidance

• Full-year net sales forecast at ¥200,000 million, up 7.8% year-over-year.

• Operating profit projected at ¥7,000 million (+1.7%), ordinary profit at ¥7,200 million (+4.3%), and net profit at ¥3,500 million (+54.8%).

• Continued aggressive facility expansion planned in healthcare and nursing, with 11 new facilities opened in 1Q and a full-year plan of 49.

• Dividend forecast raised to ¥26.00 per share for the year.

• Profit in the school business is expected to improve in 2Q as seasonal factors normalize.