Ichibanya Co., Ltd.

Ichibanya's first-quarter results for the fiscal year ending February 2027 showed revenue up 7.8% year on year to 16.9 billion yen, while operating profit fell 14.3% to 1 billion yen, ordinary profit dropped 15.8%, and net profit declined 21.1%, with the profit decline widening further down the income statement. According to the company, the revenue increase was mainly due to business expansion at overseas and domestic subsidiaries, while on the profit side it was hit by rising procurement prices for ingredients including rice and higher logistics costs. There is no change to the earnings forecasts for the first half and full year of the fiscal year ending February 2027; the full-year operating profit forecast stands at 5 billion yen, and the first-quarter progress rate of 21.7% falls short of the straight-line pace of 25%. Revenue grew 45% over four fiscal years, from 45 billion yen in the fiscal year ended February 2022 to 65.5 billion yen in the fiscal year ended February 2026, but operating profit stalled at 4.7 billion yen in both the fiscal years ended February 2024 and February 2026, and the operating profit margin also declined for two consecutive fiscal years, from a peak of 8.6% to 8.1% and then 7.2%. As of September 11, the PER was 63.97 times and the PBR was 5.47 times, and a multiple of more than 60 times against the company's forecast EPS of 17.04 yen is a level that cannot be explained by single-digit profit growth this fiscal year.

Ichibanya, which operates Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, announced on the 28th that it will introduce a late-night surcharge at its stores nationwide starting September 1st. A 7% surcharge will be added to the price of dine-in and takeout items, while delivery orders are excluded. This is in response to rising costs of raw materials and labor, and will apply during the hours of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. For example, the standard "Pork Curry" will see its dine-in price rise from 646 yen to 691 yen. Additionally, some topping items will see an average price increase of 17% from the same date, affecting 12 items including "Soft-Boiled Egg" and "Chicken Cutlet," with adjustments ranging from 11 to 60 yen.