Morinaga&Co (2201) Q3 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• April–December delivered record net sales and profit at all levels; sales growth, price revisions and U.S. gains helped offset raw-material cost pressure.

• Full-year forecasts were raised, with accelerated Q4 investment planned to support medium- to long-term growth.

Financial highlights

• 9M net sales were ¥163.8B, up 10.8% YoY; gross profit rose 14.3% to ¥67.9B and SG&A rose 5.6% to ¥48.2B.

• Operating income increased 43.2% to ¥19.7B, ordinary income rose 44.2% to ¥20.2B, and parent-attributable profit grew 57.9% to ¥14.0B.

• Simplified EBITDA rose 25.5% to ¥26.7B; extraordinary income was ¥1.3B and extraordinary losses were ¥1.9B, including ¥1.6B in impairment losses.

• Overseas sales increased 30.0% to ¥21.0B, lifting their share of consolidated sales to 12.8% from 10.9%.

Outlook and guidance

• Full-year forecast: net sales ¥211.0B, operating income ¥19.5B, ordinary income ¥20.15B and parent-attributable profit ¥14.2B; sales and profit forecasts were raised from November.

• Forecast gross margin is 40.8%, operating margin 9.2% and simplified EBITDA ¥29.0B; the forecast assumes ¥140.56 per U.S. dollar.

• Forecast increases reflect domestic confectionery and frozen-dessert growth, sales momentum and price revisions, alongside accelerated investment in businesses and foundations for long-term growth.

• Year-end dividend forecast rose to ¥55 per share from ¥52.50; forecast payout ratio is 30.0%.