Quarterly trends and results

Cumulative		FY12/19				FY12/20				FY12/21		FY12/21
(JPYmn)		Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	% of Est.	1H Est.
Sales		2,000	4,097	6,274	8,541	2,180	4,207	6,411	8,777	2,300	4,693	100.0%	4,693
	YoY	11.8%	11.9%	12.0%	11.8%	9.0%	2.7%	2.2%	2.8%	5.5%	11.6%		11.6%
Gross profit		1,482	3,057	4,689	6,252	1,563	2,951	4,468	6,083	1,535	3,126	100.0%	3,125
	YoY	27.5%	26.4%	24.6%	19.5%	5.4%	-3.5%	-4.7%	-2.7%	-1.8%	5.9%		5.9%
	Gross profit margin	74.1%	74.6%	74.7%	73.2%	71.7%	70.2%	69.7%	69.3%	66.7%	66.6%		66.6%
SG&A expenses		826	1,726	2,638	3,782	1,078	2,202	3,415	4,611	1,151	2,419	100.0%	2,419
	YoY	21.3%	22.1%	23.8%	31.3%	30.5%	27.6%	29.5%	21.9%	6.8%	9.9%		9.9%
	SG&A ratio	41.3%	42.1%	42.0%	44.3%	49.4%	52.3%	53.3%	52.5%	50.1%	51.5%		51.5%
Operating profit		656	1,331	2,051	2,470	485	749	1,053	1,472	384	707	100.1%	706
	YoY	36.2%	32.6%	25.8%	4.9%	-26.1%	-43.7%	-48.7%	-40.4%	-20.8%	-5.7%		-5.8%
	Operating profit margin	32.8%	32.5%	32.7%	28.9%	22.2%	17.8%	16.4%	16.8%	16.7%	15.1%		15.0%
Recurring profit		654	1,320	2,038	2,460	484	747	1,046	1,458	402	728	100.0%	728
	YoY	40.5%	33.1%	25.6%	5.3%	-26.1%	-43.4%	-48.7%	-40.7%	-16.9%	-2.6%		-2.6%
	Recurring profit margin	32.7%	32.2%	32.5%	28.8%	22.2%	17.8%	16.3%	16.6%	17.5%	15.5%		15.5%
Net income		601	1,058	1,553	1,695	333	514	717	1,014	285	462	100.2%	461
	YoY	93.1%	57.9%	43.2%	9.2%	-44.6%	-51.4%	-53.8%	-40.2%	-14.4%	-10.2%		-10.3%
	Net margin	30.1%	25.8%	24.8%	19.8%	15.3%	12.2%	11.2%	11.6%	12.4%	9.8%		9.8%
Quarterly		FY12/19				FY12/20				FY12/21		FY12/21
(JPYmn)		Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	% of Est.	FY Est.
Sales		2,000	2,097	2,176	2,267	2,180	2,027	2,204	2,366	2,300	2,393	49.2%	9,540
	YoY	11.8%	12.0%	12.1%	11.3%	9.0%	-3.3%	1.3%	4.4%	5.5%	18.1%		8.7%
Gross profit		1,482	1,575	1,632	1,563	1,563	1,389	1,517	1,614	1,535	1,591	54.3%	5,761
	YoY	27.5%	25.4%	21.4%	6.2%	5.4%	-11.8%	-7.0%	3.3%	-1.8%	14.6%		-5.3%
	Gross profit margin	74.1%	75.1%	75.0%	69.0%	71.7%	68.5%	68.8%	68.2%	66.7%	66.5%		60.4%
SG&A expenses		826	900	911	1,145	1,078	1,124	1,214	1,196	1,151	1,268	47.8%	5,061
	YoY	21.3%	22.7%	27.1%	52.9%	30.5%	24.8%	33.2%	4.5%	6.8%	12.8%		9.8%
	SG&A ratio	41.3%	42.9%	41.9%	50.5%	49.4%	55.4%	55.1%	50.5%	50.1%	53.0%		53.1%
Operating profit		656	675	720	419	485	265	303	419	384	323	101.0%	700
	YoY	36.2%	29.3%	14.9%	-42.1%	-26.1%	-60.8%	-57.9%	0.0%	-20.8%	22.1%		-52.4%
	Operating profit margin	32.8%	32.2%	33.1%	18.5%	22.2%	13.1%	13.8%	17.7%	16.7%	13.5%		7.3%
Recurring profit		654	666	718	422	484	264	298	412	402	326	116.5%	625
	YoY	40.5%	26.5%	13.9%	-40.9%	-26.1%	-60.4%	-58.4%	-2.3%	-16.9%	23.7%		-57.1%
	Recurring profit margin	32.7%	31.8%	33.0%	18.6%	22.2%	13.0%	13.5%	17.4%	17.5%	13.6%		6.6%
Net income		601	457	495	142	333	181	203	297	285	177	108.7%	425
	YoY	93.1%	27.4%	19.4%	-69.7%	-44.6%	-60.4%	-59.0%	109.9%	-14.4%	-2.4%		-58.1%
	Net margin	30.1%	21.8%	22.7%	6.2%	15.3%	8.9%	9.2%	12.6%	12.4%	7.4%		4.5%

Source: Shared Research based on company data
Note: Figures may differ from company data due to differences in rounding methods.

Results by segment

By segment			FY12/19				FY12/20				FY12/21		FY12/21
Cumulative (JPYmn)			Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	% of Est.	1H Est.
Sales			2,000	4,097	6,274	8,541	2,180	4,207	6,411	8,777	2,300	4,693	100.0%	4,693
	YoY		11.8%	11.9%	12.0%	11.8%	9.0%	2.7%	2.2%	2.8%	5.5%	11.6%		11.6%
	B2B Platform Food		1,621	3,310	5,041	6,827	1,713	3,253	4,935	6,688	1,657	3,360	100.0%	3,360
		YoY	8.7%	8.5%	8.9%	8.7%	5.6%	-1.7%	-2.1%	-2.0%	-3.3%	3.3%		3.3%
		% of total	81.1%	80.8%	80.4%	79.9%	78.6%	77.3%	77.0%	76.2%	72.1%	71.6%		71.6%
	B2B Platform ES		378	786	1,230	1,710	466	952	1,472	2,085	643	1,333	100.0%	1,333
		YoY	28.0%	29.0%	26.8%	26.1%	23.3%	21.2%	19.7%	22.0%	37.9%	40.0%		40.0%
		% of total	18.9%	19.2%	19.6%	20.0%	21.4%	22.6%	23.0%	23.8%	27.9%	28.4%		28.4%
	Other		11	22	33	44	11	22	34	45	3	4
		YoY	-0.3%	-1.2%	-1.0%	-0.3%	-0.1%	-0.1%	2.4%	0.9%	-69.1%	-84.0%
		% of total	0.6%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.2%	0.1%
	Adjustments		-10	-20	-30	-40	-10	-20	-30	-41	-3	-4
Operating profit			656	1,331	2,051	2,470	485	749	1,053	1,472	384	707	100.1%	706
	YoY		36.2%	32.6%	25.8%	4.9%	-26.1%	-43.7%	-48.7%	-40.4%	-20.8%	-5.7%		-5.8%
	Operating profit margin		32.8%	32.5%	32.7%	28.9%	22.2%	17.8%	16.4%	16.8%	16.7%	15.1%		15.0%
	B2B Platform Food		815	1,673	2,560	3,373	763	1,308	1,993	2,687	605	1,189	100.0%	1,189
		YoY	26.5%	25.2%	21.3%	13.1%	-6.3%	-21.8%	-22.1%	-20.3%	-20.7%	-9.1%		-9.1%
		Operating profit margin	50.2%	50.6%	50.8%	49.4%	44.5%	40.2%	40.4%	40.2%	36.5%	35.4%		35.4%
		% of total	124.2%	125.8%	124.9%	136.8%	158.1%	175.6%	190.3%	183.6%	159.1%	1.69624748		168.4%
	B2B Platform ES		-157	-339	-505	-899	-280	-562	-945	-1,219	-221	-484	-	-483
		YoY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-
		Operating profit margin	-41.5%	-43.2%	-41.1%	-52.6%	-60.0%	-59.0%	-64.2%	-58.4%	-34.5%	-36.3%		-36.2%
		% of total	-23.9%	-25.5%	-24.6%	-36.4%	-58.0%	-75.4%	-90.2%	-83.2%	-58.2%	-69.0%		-68.4%
	Other		-2	-4	-5	-9	-1	-1	-1	-5	-4	-5
		YoY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
		Operating profit margin	-16.4%	-16.2%	-16.3%	-20.0%	-6.0%	-5.0%	-4.2%	-10.4%	-101.7%	-127.7%
		% of total	-0.3%	-0.3%	-0.3%	-0.4%	-0.1%	-0.1%	-0.1%	-0.3%	-0.9%	-0.6%
	Adjustments		1	1	1	4	2	5	5	8	3	6
By segment			FY12/19				FY12/20				FY12/21		FY12/21
Quarterly (JPYmn)			Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	% of Est.	FY Est.
Sales			2,000	2,097	2,176	2,267	2,180	2,027	2,204	2,366	2,300	2,393	49.2%	9,540
	YoY		11.8%	12.0%	12.1%	11.3%	9.0%	-3.3%	1.3%	4.4%	5.5%	18.1%		8.7%
	B2B Platform Food		1,621	1,688	1,732	1,786	1,713	1,540	1,683	1,753	1,657	1,703	48.7%	6,899
		YoY	8.7%	8.4%	9.5%	8.2%	5.6%	-8.8%	-2.8%	-1.9%	-3.3%	10.6%		3.2%
		% of total	81.1%	80.5%	79.6%	78.8%	78.6%	76.0%	76.4%	74.1%	72.1%	71.2%		72.3%
	B2B Platform ES		378	408	444	480	466	486	520	613	643	690	50.5%	2,642
		YoY	28.0%	29.9%	23.2%	24.4%	23.3%	19.3%	17.2%	27.8%	37.9%	41.9%		26.7%
		% of total	18.9%	19.5%	20.4%	21.2%	21.4%	24.0%	23.6%	25.9%	27.9%	28.8%		27.7%
	Other		11	11	11	11	11	11	12	11	3	0
		YoY	-0.3%	-2.1%	-0.6%	1.6%	-0.1%	-0.1%	7.6%	-3.3%	-69.1%	-99.4%
		% of total	0.6%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.2%	0.0%
	Adjustments		-10	-10	-10	-10	-10	-10	-10	-10	-3	-0
Operating profit			656	675	720	419	485	265	303	419	384	323	101.0%	700
	YoY		36.2%	29.3%	14.9%	-42.1%	-26.1%	-60.8%	-57.9%	0.0%	-20.8%	22.1%		-52.4%
	Operating profit margin		32.8%	32.2%	33.1%	18.5%	22.2%	13.1%	13.8%	17.7%	16.7%	13.5%		7.3%
	B2B Platform Food		815	859	887	813	763	545	686	694	605	584	59.1%	2,013
		YoY	26.5%	24.1%	14.5%	-6.6%	-6.3%	-36.5%	-22.7%	-14.6%	-20.7%	7.1%		-25.1%
		Operating profit margin	50.2%	50.9%	51.2%	45.5%	44.5%	35.4%	40.7%	39.6%	36.5%	34.3%		29.2%
		% of total	124.2%	127.3%	123.2%	195.6%	158.1%	207.8%	226.5%	166.6%	159.1%	182.1%		287.6%
	B2B Platform ES		-157	-182	-165	-394	-280	-282	-383	-274	-221	-262	-	-1,313
		YoY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.7%
		Operating profit margin	-41.5%	-44.7%	-37.3%	-82.1%	-60.0%	-58.0%	-73.6%	-44.7%	-34.5%	-38.0%		-49.7%
		% of total	-23.9%	-27.1%	-23.0%	-94.8%	-58.0%	-107.6%	-126.4%	-65.8%	-58.2%	-81.7%		-187.6%
	Other		-2	-2	-2	-3	-1	-0	-0	-3	-4	-1
		YoY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
		Operating profit margin	-16.4%	-16.1%	-16.5%	-30.9%	-6.0%	-4.1%	-2.6%	-29.6%	-101.7%	-1,537.5%
		% of total	-0.3%	-0.3%	-0.2%	-0.8%	-0.1%	-0.2%	-0.1%	-0.8%	-0.9%	-0.3%
	Adjustments		1	0	0	3	2	2	1	2	3	2

Source: Shared Research based on company data
Note: Figures may differ from company data due to differences in rounding methods.

Main management indicators

Overall B2B Platform			FY12/19				FY12/20				FY12/21
			Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2
No. of user companies			300,965	328,401	354,303	387,624	412,391	437,615	475,619	522,576	566,446	604,568
	YoY		57.4%	53.1%	44.6%	39.2%	37.0%	33.3%	34.2%	34.8%	37.4%	38.2%
No. of user locations			681,476	729,257	771,288	824,920	866,854	903,929	958,713	1,032,672	1,101,158	1,175,773
	YoY		32.1%	31.3%	28.9%	27.3%	27.2%	24.0%	24.3%	25.2%	27.0%	30.1%

B2B Platform Food			FY12/19				FY12/20				FY12/21
(JPYmn)			Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2
Ordering
Total number of user companies			37,504	38,144	38,775	39,260	39,858	40,210	40,591	41,117	41,593	42,396
	YoY		5.9%	5.7%	5.3%	4.7%	6.3%	5.4%	4.7%	4.7%	4.4%	5.4%
	Buyers		2,779	2,882	2,991	3,064	3,132	3,101	3,123	3,185	3,230	3,298
		YoY	14.1%	13.6%	14.8%	13.9%	12.7%	7.6%	4.4%	3.9%	3.1%	6.4%
	Sellers		34,725	35,262	35,784	36,196	36,726	37,109	37,468	37,932	38,363	39,098
		YoY	7.0%	7.0%	6.6%	6.2%	5.8%	5.2%	4.7%	4.8%	4.5%	5.4%
Store count (buyers)			54,382	55,399	56,841	58,236	60,288	59,614	59,700	60,543	61,511	63,087
	YoY		13.3%	12.1%	11.9%	10.6%	10.9%	7.6%	5.0%	4.0%	2.0%	5.8%
Standards Database
Total number of user companies			8,605	8,741	8,936	9,216	9,474	9,883	10,075	10,312	10,425	10,576
	YoY		7.4%	7.7%	9.3%	9.8%	10.1%	13.1%	12.7%	11.9%	10.0%	7.0%
	Buyers		666	693	716	734	761	771	792	806	815	840
		YoY	15.8%	13.1%	12.9%	13.6%	14.3%	11.3%	10.6%	9.8%	7.1%	8.9%
	Wholesalers		622	631	651	667	674	678	687	697	698	698
		YoY	3.3%	5.0%	6.7%	8.5%	8.4%	7.4%	5.5%	4.5%	3.6%	2.9%
	Manufacturers		6,695	6,786	6,918	7,148	7,365	7,756	7,909	8,112	8,214	8,340
		YoY	7%	8%	9%	10%	10%	14%	14%	13%	12%	8%

B2B Platform ES			FY12/19				FY12/20				FY12/21
(JPYmn)			Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2
Invoicing
Total number of paid contracts			3,872	4,051	4,251	4,447	4,654	4,790	5,032	5,336	5,551	5,874
	YoY		30.8%	26.8%	23.8%	20.6%	20.2%	18.2%	18.4%	20.0%	19.3%	22.6%
	Receiver model		2,729	2,843	2,959	3,085	3,197	3,253	3,361	3,514	3,640	3,834
		YoY	27.1%	22.5%	20.3%	18.5%	17.1%	14.4%	13.6%	13.9%	13.9%	17.9%
	Issuer model		1,143	1,208	1,292	1,362	1,457	1,537	1,671	1,822	1,911	2,040
		YoY	40.6%	38.2%	32.5%	25.6%	27.5%	27.2%	29.3%	33.8%	31.2%	32.7%
	No. of user companies (logins)		290,700	318,231	344,234	377,677	402,534	427,835	465,971	513,040	557,008	595,240
		YoY	61.1%	56.0%	46.8%	40.8%	38.5%	34.4%	35.4%	35.8%	38.4%	39.1%
Contract
No. of user companies (logins)							5,424	8,241	10,697	13,426	16,751	20,289
	YoY						-	-	-	-	208.8%
Matching
No. of user companies			8,870	8,924	8,982	8,967	8,964	8,869	8,849	8,901	8,921	8,954
	YoY		3.6%	2.9%	2.9%	2.0%	1.1%	-0.6%	-1.5%	-0.7%	-0.5%	1.0%
	Buyers		7,228	7,305	7,398	7,439	7,489	7,433	7,429	7,477	7,494	7,541
		YoY	3.4%	3.5%	4.1%	3.8%	3.6%	1.8%	0.4%	0.5%	0.1%	1.5%
	Sellers		1,642	1,619	1,584	1,528	1,475	1,436	1,420	1,424	1,427	1,413
		YoY	4.5%	0.3%	-2.0%	-5.7%	-10.2%	-11.3%	-10.4%	-6.8%	-3.3%	-1.6%

Source: Shared Research based on company data
Note: Figures may differ from company data due to differences in rounding methods.

Q2 FY12/21 results (out July 30, 2021)

Overview

Sales: JPY4.7bn (+11.6% YoY; 100.0% versus 1H target; 49.2% in 1H versus full-year FY12/21 target)
Operating profit: JPY707mn (-5.7% YoY; 100.1%; 101.0%)
Recurring profit: JPY728mn (-2.6% YoY; 100.0%; 116.5%)
Net income: JPY462mn (-10.2％ YoY; 100.2％; 108.7%)
No changes were made to the company's full-year FY12/21 forecast

Main points in Q2 results

Sales

Sales were up 11.6% YoY. In the B2B Platform Food segment (+3.3% YoY), new starts by buyers seeking to use cloud-based management systems for the B2B Platform Ordering service and the B2B Platform Standards Database service increased, resulting in higher system usage fees from buyer companies.

In the B2B Platform ES segment (+40.0% YoY), system usage fees rose on the back of heightened interest in operational efficiency and digital transformation (DX) in the B2B Platform Invoicing service as well as increased adoption of teleworking.

As of end-Q2 FY12/21, B2B Platform users totaled 604,568 companies (566,446 at end-Q1 FY12/21) and 1,175,773 offices (1,101,158 at end-Q1 FY12/21).

Costs and profits

Costs increased in 1H, led by 24.8% YoY rise in cost of sales owing to expansion of the company’s server infrastructure and a 9.9% increase in SG&A expenses, primarily reflecting higher personnel expenses owing to the hiring of more sales and sales support staff. Operating profit fell 5.7% YoY, reflecting new investments to accelerate future sales growth.

Segment results

B2B Platform Food segment

Sales: JPY3.4bn (+3.3% YoY; 100.0% versus 1H target; 48.7% in 1H FY12/21 versus full-year FY12/21 target)

Operating profit: JPY1.2bn (-9.1% YoY; 100.0%; 59.1%)

Segment sales rose 3.3% YoY. In the B2B Platform Ordering service, system usage and set-up fees from buyer companies rose in line with an increase in new customer count among buyer companies aiming to streamline workflows in takeout, delivery, and other new formats as well as hotel and school lunch operations. There was also a rise in system usage fees from seller companies (pay-for-use) as transaction volumes for foods and other goods rose YoY. In addition, system usage and set-up fees for the B2B Platform Standards Database service rose owing to an increase in users.

Operating profit fell 9.1% YoY to JPY1.2bn. However, the result exceeded the company’s 1H target of JPY1.0bn.

B2B Platform ES segment

Sales: JPY1.3bn (+40.0% YoY; 100.0% versus 1H target; 50.5% in 1H FY12/21 versus full-year FY12/21 target)

Operating loss: JPY484mn (versus loss of JPY562mn in 1H FY12/20; company’s 1H forecast is a loss of JPY483mn)

Segment sales expanded 40.0% YoY in 1H. For the B2B Platform Invoicing service, operational efficiencies and greater use of teleworking led to a 22.6% YoY increase in new companies under paid contract for using receiving and issuing models. In addition, system usage and set-up fees rose as utilization (shift to electronic invoice data) progressed. User companies increase in a wide range of industries in addition to the food industry.

Segment operating loss was JPY484mn. This primarily reflects an increase in personnel expenses owing to the continued hiring of sales and sales support staff before and during 2020 as part of the company’s plan to expand the B2B Platform Invoicing service. On a positive note, the 1H operating loss was smaller than the JPY700mn loss the company had initially expected.

Infomart 2492