During the third quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year, the Japanese economy showed a gradual recovery trend amid the lifting of restrictions on social activities due to COVID-19 and a return to normal of economic activity. While government economic and other measures and increased consumer spending have brought some bright spots in the market, the global price hikes continue due to soaring raw material prices, worsening geopolitical risks, and the weak yen, and risks to the economic recovery still present.
The information services industry, to which the Group (composed of the Company, its consolidated subsidiaries, and equity-method affiliates) belongs, saw the continuation of digital transformation (DX) initiatives such as non-contact and remote services suited to the “new normal,” the spread of cloud-based computing, the expanding use of big data and artificial intelligence (AI), the progress of the IoT, and greater operational efficiency. The use of generative AI, in particular, is progressing rapidly, extending a significant impact on the way that society operates.
Under these conditions, the Group has entered the second year of its Medium-term Management Plan (April 2022 to March 2025). The Group will work together as one to expand its businesses, aiming to achieve the numerical targets for the fiscal year ending in March 2025, the final year of the plan: net sales of 40,000 million yen, operating income of 3,200 million yen, operating income rate of 8.0%, and ROE of 10% or higher.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2023, net sales totaled 28,213 million yen (up 10.6% year on year), operating income was 2,233 million yen (up 65.1% year on year), ordinary income was 2,291 million yen (up 65.2% year on year), and net income attributable to owners of parent was 1,501 million yen (up 76.5% year on year).
Net sales increased year on year due to solid performance of cloud-based services and information processing services that provide commissioned calculation and other services to service stations (SS: gasoline stations). In addition, sales associated with system development projects for the finance industry progressed more strongly than anticipated. There was also a significant year-on-year increase in operating income, despite the persistence of an elevated cost of sales, mainly due to the impact of electricity fees. This was due to the reduced impact of electricity fees through measures such as investment in energy-saving at data centers, as well as the effect of higher revenue due to strong sales. As a result, the Company was able to secure a year-on-year increase in net income attributable to owners of parent.
(from the financial statements for the Q3 of the fiscal year ending in March 2024)