【Financial Highlights Brief Report for 1st Quarter FY2026】
A. Financial Highlights for 1st Quarter FY2026
A-1. Financial Results for 1st Quarter FY2026
In the first quarter, operating revenues were 286.8 billion yen, up 41.9 billion yen year on year. Operating income was 19.5 billion yen, a decrease of 0.2 billion yen year on year. Ordinary income was 24.0 billion yen, an increase of 2.3 billion yen year on year. Net income attributable to owners of parent was 23.3 billion yen, a decrease of 6.5 billion yen year on year.
The average exchange rate during the period was 159.89 yen per U.S. dollar, reflecting a substantially weaker yen compared with the same period of the last fiscal year. The average bunker price was 787 dollars per metric ton.
As shown on the slide, favorable market conditions, especially in the Dry Bulk segment, and the weaker yen were positive factors for operating income. However, costs increased, mainly due to higher bunker prices, and operating income remained largely in line with the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Foreign exchange movements had a significant impact on ordinary income. We recorded a foreign exchange loss in the same period of the previous fiscal year, but a foreign exchange gain in the current fiscal year. As a result, the year-on-year change turned positive at the ordinary income level, compared with the operating income level.
Net income attributable to owners of parent decreased year on year because the same period of the previous fiscal year included extraordinary income, such as gains on the sale of vessels and the partial sale of shares in a subsidiary, while no similar gains were recorded in the current fiscal year.
The key financial indicators are shown in the table at the bottom left of the slide. As of the end of June, the equity ratio was 58% to 60% including off-balance-sheet charter hire obligations on a lease-adjusted basis.
A-2. Financial Results for 1st Quarter FY2026 by Segment
Here are the results by segment. In the Dry Bulk segment, the Capesize market remained firm, supported by very strong cargo movements of iron ore, bauxite, etc. Market conditions for Panamax and smaller sizes also remained above our assumptions, supported by stronger coal transportation demand associated with developments in the Middle East and very strong demand for grain transport.
For the first quarter in particular, profits increased significantly by 9.3 billion yen, partly due to a rebound from the one-time negative impacts of accidents and labor disputes at loading ports in the previous fiscal year.
In the Energy Resource Transport segment, profits increased due to strong market conditions for LPG carriers and tankers, despite the absence of the one-time gain recorded in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
In the Car Carrier Business within the Product Logistics segment, profits declined sharply year on year due to lower fleet utilization caused by the situation in the Middle East and a substantial increase in bunker prices. In the Containership Business, freight rates increased, but profits declined year on year due to the significant impact of higher operating costs resulting from the rise in bunker prices.
The explanation so far has been based solely on a comparison with the same period of the previous fiscal year. However, the business and earnings environments have improved from the outlook at the beginning of the fiscal year.
B. Forecasts for FY2026
B-1. Forecasts for FY2026
I will now explain the full-year earnings outlook for the current fiscal year. We already made an initial announcement in a timely disclosure on July 24. Please understand that the figures are basically unchanged from that announcement.
As assumptions for the full-year forecasts, we use actual exchange rates through the most recent period and assume 150 yen per U.S. dollar thereafter. We have left the second-half bunker price assumption unchanged from the beginning of the fiscal year, but raised the second-quarter assumption by approximately 100 dollars. We forecast a full-year bunker price of 718 dollars per metric ton.
Please refer to the Appendix for the market assumptions. We have mainly raised the first-half market assumptions for the Dry Bulk and Energy Resource Transport segments.
At the beginning of the fiscal year, our plan assumed that vessels would be unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz until the end of June and that conditions would begin to normalize from July onward. However, based on the current situation, we now assume that passage will remain difficult at least through the end of September. The forecasts for OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS (ONE) use the same assumption.
We have not changed our initial assumption for passage through the Suez Canal. Our plan assumes that passage will remain difficult throughout the fiscal year and that vessels will not transit the canal.
The bottom left of the slide shows the estimated impact of changes in the exchange rate and bunker price on results for the remaining nine months. A one-yen change in the exchange rate is expected to have an impact of 1.3 billion yen, while a ten-dollar change in the bunker price is expected to have an impact of 640.0 million yen.
Based on these assumptions, we have revised our full-year forecasts upward. Operating income is forecast at 85.0 billion yen, up 0.9 billion yen year on year and up 2.0 billion yen from the May forecast. Ordinary income is forecast at 135.0 billion yen, up 25.9 billion yen year on year and up 35.0 billion yen from the May forecast. Net income attributable to owners of parent is forecast at 135.0 billion yen, up 2.1 billion yen year on year and up 40.0 billion yen from the May forecast.
With respect to shareholder returns, the annual dividend forecast remains unchanged from the beginning of the fiscal year at 120 yen per share. In addition, on May 29, we announced a share buy-back of up to 130.0 billion yen, of which 86.2 billion yen had been repurchased as of the end of July. The shares repurchased through the share buy-back will be cancelled after the repurchase is completed.
B-2. Forecasts for FY2026 by Segment
I will explain the full-year forecasts by segment.
First, in the Dry Bulk segment, we have not revised the second-half market assumptions. However, transport demand has remained very resilient, and we expect an increase in profits in the first half, including the impact of raising the market assumptions. We have revised the full-year ordinary income forecast upward to an increase of 10.0 billion yen year on year and 5.0 billion yen from the May forecast.
Next, in the Energy Resource Transport segment, including the increase in profits recorded in the first quarter, we forecast higher profits than in the May forecast. However, we continue to expect a year-on-year decline in profits. This reflects the absence of the one-time gain recorded in the previous fiscal year and lower earnings resulting from LNG carrier contracts being in a transition period during the current fiscal year.
In the Product Logistics segment, we have revised the full-year forecast for the Car Carrier Business downward by 3.5 billion yen from the May forecast. As I explained earlier, we raised the second-quarter bunker cost assumption. Although there is a certain time lag, we basically pass the increase in bunker costs on to freight rates and recover it through the BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor). However, we expect part of the recovery to shift from the current fiscal year to the next fiscal year. Please understand that this will result in a corresponding decline in profits in the current fiscal year.
Finally, in the Containership Business, we revised equity-method income from ONE upward. At the beginning of the fiscal year, ONE’s annual profit after tax was forecast at 300.0 million dollars. Against the backdrop of current favorable market conditions, we have raised our full-year forecast for ONE’s profit after tax to 900.0 million dollars.
This concludes my explanation of our full-year forecasts for the current fiscal year, including the segment forecasts.
C. Status and Progress of the Medium-term Management Plan
C-1. Capital Policy Progress and Corporate Value Improvement
I will explain the progress of the Medium-term Management Plan, for which the current fiscal year is the final year.
First, I will explain cash flow. Although we revised earnings for the current fiscal year upward, our forecast of 1.5 trillion yen in operating cash flow remains broadly unchanged, despite a slight increase in the amount before rounding. Investment cash flow also remains unchanged from the beginning of the fiscal year.
Regarding the optimal capital structure, at the financial results announcement on May 8, we stated that, as an initial step, we aim to optimize our capital structure in the short term, targeting an equity ratio of around 50%, including off-balance-sheet charter hire obligations. As part of this effort, we announced a share buy-back of up to 130.0 billion yen on May 29. We will continue to steadily advance these initiatives.
We previously projected total shareholder returns of 800.0 billion yen or more. After allocating the management allocation of 80.0 billion yen to the share buy-back, we revised this amount upward to 880.0 billion yen or more. As I mentioned earlier, the annual forecast dividend remains unchanged, and the share buy-back is currently underway.
Under “For Corporate Value Improvement” at the bottom of the slide, we present our goal for the next Medium-term Management Plan. To achieve ROE of 15% or higher over the medium to long term, we will pursue reductions in the cost of capital and execution of our growth strategy as two key pillars.
C-2. Shareholder’s Return Policy
Our shareholder return policy is as I explained earlier. We have made no changes since announcing the share buy-back in May.
C-3. Changes in the Business Environment
This slide and the next organize, mainly from a risk perspective, the factors in the business environment that may affect our businesses, and comprehensively summarize their impacts and our responses.
C-4. Shipping Industry Environment
I will omit a detailed explanation of each item. In addition to the impact related to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, we believe that the continued delay in resuming passage through the Suez Canal will particularly affect vessel supply and demand.
Regarding the tariffs shown in the center of the slide, there is also a view that front-loaded shipments in anticipation of U.S. tariff policy were one factor behind strong containership transport demand in the first half.
We intend to closely monitor these developments and put in place a structure that enables us to respond appropriately.
