Quarterly trends and results

Cumulative		FY12/20				FY12/21				FY12/22				FY12/22
(JPYmn)		Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	% of Est.	1H Est.
Sales		2,180	4,207	6,411	8,777	2,300	4,693	7,154	9,836	2,561				49.0%	5,227
	YoY	9.0%	2.7%	2.2%	2.8%	5.5%	11.6%	11.6%	12.1%	11.4%					11.4%
Gross profit		1,563	2,951	4,468	6,083	1,535	3,126	4,576	6,208	1,457				50.7%	2,874
	YoY	5.4%	-3.5%	-4.7%	-2.7%	-1.8%	5.9%	2.4%	2.1%	-5.1%					-8.1%
	Gross profit margin	71.7%	70.2%	69.7%	69.3%	66.7%	66.6%	64.0%	63.1%	56.9%					55.0%
SG&A expenses		1,078	2,202	3,415	4,611	1,151	2,419	3,667	5,177	1,273				44.9%	2,839
	YoY	30.5%	27.6%	29.5%	21.9%	6.8%	9.9%	7.4%	12.3%	10.6%					17.4%
	SG&A ratio	49.4%	52.3%	53.3%	52.5%	50.1%	51.5%	51.3%	52.6%	49.7%					54.3%
Operating profit		485	749	1,053	1,472	384	707	909	1,031	184				524.9%	35
	YoY	-26.1%	-43.7%	-48.7%	-40.4%	-20.8%	-5.7%	-13.7%	-30.0%	-52.1%					-95.0%
	Operating profit margin	22.2%	17.8%	16.4%	16.8%	16.7%	15.1%	12.7%	10.5%	7.2%					0.7%
Recurring profit		484	747	1,046	1,458	402	728	922	1,022	170				3,395.4%	5
	YoY	-26.1%	-43.4%	-48.7%	-40.7%	-16.9%	-2.6%	-11.9%	-29.9%	-57.8%					-99.3%
	Recurring profit margin	22.2%	17.8%	16.3%	16.6%	17.5%	15.5%	12.9%	10.4%	6.6%					0.1%
Net income		333	514	717	1,014	285	462	586	539	110				344.8%	32
	YoY	-44.6%	-51.4%	-53.8%	-40.2%	-14.4%	-10.2%	-18.3%	-46.9%	-61.3%					-93.1%
	Net margin	15.3%	12.2%	11.2%	11.6%	12.4%	9.8%	8.2%	5.5%	4.3%					0.6%
Quarterly		FY12/20				FY12/21				FY12/22				FY12/22
(JPYmn)		Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	% of Est.	FY Est.
Sales		2,180	2,027	2,204	2,366	2,300	2,393	2,461	2,682	2,561				23.3%	10,986
	YoY	9.0%	-3.3%	1.3%	4.4%	5.5%	18.1%	11.7%	13.3%	11.4%					377.7%
Gross profit		1,563	1,389	1,517	1,614	1,535	1,591	1,450	1,632	1,457				24.5%	5,954
	YoY	5.4%	-11.8%	-7.0%	3.3%	-1.8%	14.6%	-4.4%	1.1%	-5.1%					287.9%
	Gross profit margin	71.7%	68.5%	68.8%	68.2%	66.7%	66.5%	58.9%	60.9%	56.9%					54.2%
SG&A expenses		1,078	1,124	1,214	1,196	1,151	1,268	1,248	1,510	1,273				21.8%	5,854
	YoY	30.5%	24.8%	33.2%	4.5%	6.8%	12.8%	2.8%	26.3%	10.6%					408.6%
	SG&A ratio	49.4%	55.4%	55.1%	50.5%	50.1%	53.0%	50.7%	56.3%	49.7%					53.3%
Operating profit		485	265	303	419	384	323	202	122	184				183.7%	100
	YoY	-26.1%	-60.8%	-57.9%	0.0%	-20.8%	22.1%	-33.3%	-70.9%	-52.1%					-73.9%
	Operating profit margin	22.2%	13.1%	13.8%	17.7%	16.7%	13.5%	8.2%	4.5%	7.2%					0.9%
Recurring profit		484	264	298	412	402	326	194	100	170				414.1%	41
	YoY	-26.1%	-60.4%	-58.4%	-2.3%	-16.9%	23.7%	-35.1%	-75.7%	-57.8%					-89.8%
	Recurring profit margin	22.2%	13.0%	13.5%	17.4%	17.5%	13.6%	7.9%	3.7%	6.6%					0.4%
Net income		333	181	203	297	285	177	124	-47	110				256.6%	43
	YoY	-44.6%	-60.4%	-59.0%	109.9%	-14.4%	-2.4%	-38.9%	-	-61.3%					-84.9%
	Net margin	15.3%	8.9%	9.2%	12.6%	12.4%	7.4%	5.0%	-	4.3%					0.4%

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			FY12/20				FY12/21				FY12/22				FY12/22
Cumulative (JPYmn)			Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	% of Est.	1H Est.
Sales			2,180	4,207	6,411	8,777	2,300	4,693	7,154	9,836	2,561				49.0%	5,227
	YoY		9.0%	2.7%	2.2%	2.8%	5.5%	11.6%	11.6%	12.1%	11.4%					11.4%
	B2B Platform Food		1,713	3,253	4,935	6,688	1,657	3,360	5,108	7,000	1,807				48.7%	3,711
		YoY	5.6%	-1.7%	-2.1%	-2.0%	-3.3%	3.3%	3.5%	4.7%	9.0%					10.4%
		% of total	78.6%	77.3%	77.0%	76.2%	72.1%	71.6%	71.4%	71.2%	70.6%					71.0%
	B2B Platform ES		466	952	1,472	2,085	643	1,333	2,046	2,835	754				49.8%	1,515
		YoY	23.3%	21.2%	19.7%	22.0%	37.9%	40.0%	39.0%	36.0%	17.3%					13.7%
		% of total	21.4%	22.6%	23.0%	23.8%	27.9%	28.4%	28.6%	28.8%	29.4%					29.0%
	Other		11	22	34	45	3	4	4	4	-
		YoY	-0.1%	-0.1%	2.4%	0.9%	-69.1%	-84.0%	-89.4%	-91.9%	-
		% of total	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.2%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
	Adjustments		-10	-20	-30	-41	-3	-4	-4	-4	-
Operating profit			485	749	1,053	1,472	384	707	909	1,031	184				524.9%	35
	YoY		-26.1%	-43.7%	-48.7%	-40.4%	-20.8%	-5.7%	-13.7%	-30.0%	-52.1%					-95.0%
	Operating profit margin		22.2%	17.8%	16.4%	16.8%	16.7%	15.1%	12.7%	10.5%	7.2%					0.7%
	B2B Platform Food		763	1,308	1,993	2,687	605	1,189	1,666	2,164	490				51.9%	944
		YoY	-6.3%	-21.8%	-22.1%	-20.3%	-20.7%	-9.1%	-16.4%	-19.5%	-19.1%					-20.6%
		Operating profit margin	44.5%	40.2%	40.4%	40.2%	36.5%	35.4%	32.6%	30.9%	27.1%					25.4%
		% of total	158.1%	175.6%	190.3%	183.6%	159.1%	169.6%	184.9%	212.2%	271.3%					2,551.4%
	B2B Platform ES		-280	-562	-945	-1,219	-221	-484	-760	-1,138	-310				-	-907
		YoY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-					-
		Operating profit margin	-60.0%	-59.0%	-64.2%	-58.4%	-34.5%	-36.3%	-37.1%	-40.1%	-41.1%					-59.9%
		% of total	-58.0%	-75.4%	-90.2%	-83.2%	-58.2%	-69.0%	-84.3%	-111.6%	-171.6%					-2,451.4%
	Other		-1	-1	-1	-5	-4	-5	-5	-6	1
		YoY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
		Operating profit margin	-6.0%	-5.0%	-4.2%	-10.4%	-101.7%	-127.7%	-152.6%	-174.2%	-
		% of total	-0.1%	-0.1%	-0.1%	-0.3%	-0.9%	-0.6%	-0.6%	-0.6%	0.3%
	Adjustments		2	5	5	8	3	6	8	11	3
By segment			FY12/20				FY12/21				FY12/22				FY12/22
Quarterly (JPYmn)			Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	% of Est.	FY Est.
Sales			2,180	2,027	2,204	2,366	2,300	2,393	2,461	2,682	2,561				23.3%	10,986
	YoY		9.0%	-3.3%	1.3%	4.4%	5.5%	18.1%	11.7%	13.3%	11.4%					377.7%
	B2B Platform Food		1,713	1,540	1,683	1,753	1,657	1,703	1,748	1,893	1,807				23.7%	7,619
		YoY	5.6%	-8.8%	-2.8%	-1.9%	-3.3%	10.6%	3.9%	8.0%	9.0%					359.8%
		% of total	78.6%	76.0%	76.4%	74.1%	72.1%	71.2%	71.0%	70.6%	70.6%					69.4%
	B2B Platform ES		466	486	520	613	643	690	713	789	754				22.4%	3,367
		YoY	23.3%	19.3%	17.2%	27.8%	37.9%	41.9%	37.2%	28.7%	17.3%					423.9%
		% of total	21.4%	24.0%	23.6%	25.9%	27.9%	28.8%	29.0%	29.4%	29.4%					30.6%
	Other		11	11	12	11	3	0	0	0	-
		YoY	-0.1%	-0.1%	7.6%	-3.3%	-69.1%	-99.4%	-99.8%	-99.5%	-
		% of total	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
	Adjustments		-10	-10	-10	-10	-3	-0	-0	-0	-
Operating profit			485	265	303	419	384	323	202	122	184				183.7%	100
	YoY		-26.1%	-60.8%	-57.9%	0.0%	-20.8%	22.1%	-33.3%	-70.9%	-52.1%					-73.9%
	Operating profit margin		22.2%	13.1%	13.8%	17.7%	16.7%	13.5%	8.2%	4.5%	7.2%					0.9%
	B2B Platform Food		763	545	686	694	605	584	477	498	490				25.7%	1,903
		YoY	-6.3%	-36.5%	-22.7%	-14.6%	-20.7%	7.1%	-30.4%	-28.3%	-19.1%					214.4%
		Operating profit margin	44.5%	35.4%	40.7%	39.6%	36.5%	34.3%	27.3%	26.3%	27.1%					25.0%
		% of total	158.1%	207.8%	226.5%	166.6%	159.1%	182.1%	238.7%	418.6%	271.3%
	B2B Platform ES		-280	-282	-383	-274	-221	-262	-276	-378	-310				-	-1,796
		YoY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-					-
		Operating profit margin	-60.0%	-58.0%	-73.6%	-44.7%	-34.5%	-38.0%	-38.7%	-47.9%	-41.1%					-53.3%
		% of total	-58.0%	-107.6%	-126.4%	-65.8%	-58.2%	-81.7%	-138.2%	-317.9%	-171.6%
	Other		-1	-0	-0	-3	-4	-1	-1	-1	1
		YoY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
		Operating profit margin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
		% of total	-0.1%	-0.2%	-0.1%	-0.8%	-0.9%	-0.3%	-0.5%	-0.7%	0.3%
	Adjustments		2	2	1	2	3	2	2	3	3

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			FY12/20				FY12/21				FY12/22
Cumulative (No. of companies)			Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
No. of user companies			412,391	437,615	475,619	522,576	566,446	604,568	641,129	679,684	716,260
	YoY		37.0%	33.3%	34.2%	34.8%	37.4%	38.2%	34.8%	30.1%	26.4%
No. of user locations			866,854	903,929	958,713	1,032,672	1,101,158	1,175,773	1,241,830	1,309,477	1,381,740
	YoY		27.2%	24.0%	24.3%	25.2%	27.0%	30.1%	29.5%	26.8%	25.5%

B2B Platform Food			FY12/20				FY12/21				FY12/22
Cumulative (No. of companies)			Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Ordering
Total number of user companies			39,858	40,210	40,591	41,117	41,593	42,396	43,048	43,559	44,082
	YoY		6.3%	5.4%	4.7%	4.7%	4.4%	5.4%	6.1%	5.9%	6.0%
	Buyers		3,132	3,101	3,123	3,185	3,230	3,298	3,360	3,439	3,509
		YoY	12.7%	7.6%	4.4%	3.9%	3.1%	6.4%	7.6%	8.0%	8.6%
	Sellers		36,726	37,109	37,468	37,932	38,363	39,098	39,688	40,120	40,573
		YoY	5.8%	5.2%	4.7%	4.8%	4.5%	5.4%	5.9%	5.8%	5.8%
Store count (buyers)			60,288	59,614	59,700	60,543	61,511	63,087	64,258	66,010	67,203
	YoY		10.9%	7.6%	5.0%	4.0%	2.0%	5.8%	7.6%	9.0%	9.3%
Standards Database
Total number of user companies			9,474	9,883	10,075	10,312	10,425	10,576	10,787	10,909	10,973
	YoY		10.1%	13.1%	12.7%	11.9%	10.0%	7.0%	7.1%	5.8%	5.3%
	Buyers		761	771	792	806	815	840	865	892	910
		YoY	14.3%	11.3%	10.6%	9.8%	7.1%	8.9%	9.2%	10.7%	11.7%
	Wholesalers		674	678	687	697	698	698	707	709	710
		YoY	8.4%	7.4%	5.5%	4.5%	3.6%	2.9%	2.9%	1.7%	1.7%
	Manufacturers		7,365	7,756	7,909	8,112	8,214	8,340	8,508	8,599	8,643
		YoY	10%	14%	14%	13%	12%	8%	8%	6%	5%

B2B Platform ES			FY12/20				FY12/21				FY12/22
Cumulative (No. of companies)			Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4	Q1	Q1–Q2	Q1–Q3	Q1–Q4
Invoicing
Total number of paid contracts			4,654	4,790	5,032	5,336	5,551	5,874	6,198	6,528	6,971
	YoY		20.2%	18.2%	18.4%	20.0%	19.3%	22.6%	23.2%	22.3%	25.6%
	Receiver model		3,197	3,253	3,361	3,514	3,640	3,834	4,026	4,192	4,435
		YoY	17.1%	14.4%	13.6%	13.9%	13.9%	17.9%	19.8%	19.3%	21.8%
	Issuer model		1,457	1,537	1,671	1,822	1,911	2,040	2,172	2,336	2,536
		YoY	27.5%	27.2%	29.3%	33.8%	31.2%	32.7%	30.0%	28.2%	32.7%
	No. of user companies (logins)		402,534	427,835	465,971	513,040	557,008	595,240	631,921	670,528	707,168
		YoY	38.5%	34.4%	35.4%	35.8%	38.4%	39.1%	35.6%	30.7%	27.0%
Contract
No. of user companies (logins)			5,424	8,241	10,697	13,426	16,751	20,289	23,496	27,296	31,344
	YoY		-	-	-	-	208.8%	146.2%	119.7%	103.3%	87.1%
Matching
No. of user companies			8,964	8,869	8,849	8,901	8,921	8,954	8,982	9,043	9,118
	YoY		1.1%	-0.6%	-1.5%	-0.7%	-0.5%	1.0%	1.5%	1.6%	2.2%
	Buyers		7,489	7,433	7,429	7,477	7,494	7,541	7,573	7,615	7,665
		YoY	3.6%	1.8%	0.4%	0.5%	0.1%	1.5%	1.9%	1.8%	2.3%
	Sellers		1,475	1,436	1,420	1,424	1,427	1,413	1,409	1,428	1,453
		YoY	-10.2%	-11.3%	-10.4%	-6.8%	-3.3%	-1.6%	-0.8%	0.3%	1.8%

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

Q1 FY12/22 results (out April 28, 2022)

Overview

Sales: JPY2.6bn (+11.4% YoY)
Operating profit: JPY184mn (-52.1% YoY)
Recurring profit: JPY170mn (-57.8% YoY)
Net income attributable to owners of the parent: JPY110mn (-61.3％ YoY)

Results summary

Progress rate

Q1 progress versus the 1H FY12/22 company forecast was 49.0% for sales (49.0% of 1H FY12/21 results in Q1 FY12/21), 524.9% for operating profit (54.3%), 3,395.4% for recurring profit (55.2%), and 344.8% for net income attributable to owners of the parent (61.8%).

Against the full-year forecast, Q1 progress was 23.3% for sales (23.4% of FY12/21 results in Q1 FY12/21), 183.7% for operating profit (37.2%), 414.4% for recurring profit (39.3%), and 256.6% for net income attributable to owners of the parent (53.0%).

Sales

Sales were up 11.4% YoY to JPY2.6bn. In the B2B Platform Food segment, sales rose 9.0% YoY. Among users of the B2B Platform Ordering and B2B Platform Standards Database services, new starts by buyer companies seeking to use cloud-based management systems increased. As a result, system usage fees from buyer companies grew.

In the B2B Platform ES segment, sales grew 17.3% YoY. System usage fees rose, driven by the spread of teleworking and heightened interest in operational efficiency and adoption of digital technology among users of the B2B Platform Invoicing service.

As of end-Q1 FY12/22, B2B Platform users totaled 716,260 companies (+26.4% YoY) and 1,381,740 offices (+25.5% YoY).

Costs and profits

Operating profit fell 52.1% YoY to JPY184mn. Sales growth of JPY149mn in B2B Platform Food and JPY111mn in B2B Platform ES was absorbed by higher expenditures. Expense increases included data center costs (+JPY323mn) stemming from the expansion of the company’s server infrastructure to accommodate increased usage and the implementation of disaster recovery measures. Higher promotion expenses (+JPY40mn) and personnel expenses owing to the hiring of more sales and sales support staff (+JPY13mn) also weighed down the operating profit.

Segment results

B2B Platform Food segment

Sales: JPY1.8bn (+9.0% YoY)

Operating profit: JPY490mn (-19.1% YoY)

Sales rose 9.0% YoY to JPY1.8bn. In the B2B Platform Ordering service, system usage fees from buyer companies rose in line with an increase in new customer count among operators seeking to introduce cloud-based management systems. These included operators of izakaya (Japanese-style pubs), restaurants, hotels, meal services, and new services such as takeout and delivery. Seller companies benefited from the easing of restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Transaction volumes of food materials and other goods rose, and system usage fees from seller companies (charged on a pay-per-use basis) improved YoY. Users of the B2B Platform Standards Database service grew, and system usage fees were up YoY.

The combined number of buyer and seller companies using the platform’s two services increased, with users of the B2B Platform Ordering service up 6.0% YoY to 44,082 companies and users of the B2B Platform Standards Database service rising 5.3% YoY to 10,973 companies.

Operating profit fell 19.1% YoY to JPY490mn.

B2B Platform ES segment

Sales: JPY754mn (+17.3% YoY)

Operating loss: JPY310mn (operating loss of JPY221mn in Q1 FY12/21)

Sales expanded 17.3% YoY to JPY754mn. In the B2B Platform Invoicing service, operational efficiencies, progress in digital transformation, and spread of teleworking led to an increase in new companies under paid contract, both on the receiving and issuing end of invoicing. New customers were not limited to the food industry but covered a wide range of industries. In addition, system usage fees rose as utilization (shift to electronic invoicing) steadily progressed.

The number of companies using the B2B Platform Invoicing service (those that log into the system) increased 27.0% YoY to 707,168 companies. Of this number, 4,435 (+21.8% YoY) were companies that have signed a paid contract on the receiving end, and 2,536 (+32.7% YoY) were those that have signed a paid contract on the issuing end.

The operating loss came to JPY310mn. This primarily reflected an increase in personnel expenses owing to the hiring of sales staff needed to expand the B2B Platform Invoicing service. Promotion expenses rose as well, as the company stepped up marketing initiatives.

Infomart 2492