Kusuri No Aoki Holdings (3549) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY ended May 20, 2024 net sales rose 15.3% YoY to ¥436.875bn; operating profit increased 21.4% to ¥18.569bn, while net income declined 0.2% to ¥12.307bn.

• Sales, operating income, ordinary income and net income achieved 100.4%, 108.0%, 109.2% and 108.9% of the revised plan, respectively.

• Excluding ¥6.810bn of share-based remuneration expense, operating profit was ¥25.379bn (+65.9%), ordinary profit ¥26.911bn (+40.7%) and parent profit ¥19.117bn (+55.1%).

Financial highlights

• Gross profit increased to ¥118.090bn from ¥106.107bn; gross margin declined 1.0 pt to 27.0%.

• SG&A rose 9.6% to ¥99.521bn, while the SG&A ratio improved 1.2 pts to 22.8%.

• Ordinary profit rose 5.1% to ¥20.101bn; profit before income taxes increased to ¥19.570bn from ¥16.760bn.

• Comprehensive income was ¥13.026bn, up from ¥12.535bn; EPS was ¥130.11 versus ¥130.31, reflecting the 3-for-1 share split.

Outlook and guidance

• FY ending May 20, 2025 forecast: sales ¥485.000bn (+11.0%), operating profit ¥25.107bn (+35.2%), ordinary profit ¥25.607bn (+27.4%) and parent profit ¥18.107bn (+47.1%).

• Excluding share-based remuneration, FY2025 forecast operating profit is ¥25.500bn (+0.5%), ordinary profit ¥26.000bn (-3.4%) and parent profit ¥18.500bn (-3.2%).

• FY2025 forecast gross margin is 26.6%, down 0.4 pt; operating margin is 5.2%, up 0.9 pt, and the SG&A ratio is 21.4%, down 1.4 pts.

• FY2025 forecast EPS is ¥191.41; annual dividend is ¥14 per share, with a 7.3% consolidated payout ratio.

• Plan calls for 70 store openings and 70 dispensing pharmacies; the dispensing-pharmacy ratio target is 66.0%.