Artner Co., Ltd. (“the Company”) hereby notifiesthat, based on recent performance trends and the like, the forecast of non-consolidated financial results and forecast of year-end dividends, announced on March 1 4, 2023, were revised at the Board of Directors Meeting on December 8, 2023, as shown below.
1. Revisions to forecast of non-consolidated financial results
Revisions to figures of full year forecast of non-consolidated financial results for the year ending January 31, 2024 (from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024)
| Net sales | Operating profit | Ordinary profit | Profit | Earnings per share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previously announced forecast (A) | Millions of yen 9,797 |
Millions of yen 1,325 |
Millions of yen 1,328 |
Millions of yen 920 |
Yen 86.65 |
| Revised forecast (B) | 10,049 | 1,526 | 1,536 | 1,061 | 99.91 |
| Increase (B − A) | 252 | 201 | 208 | 141 | ー |
| Change (%) | 2.6 | 15.2 | 15.7 | 15.3 | ー |
| Reference: Results in previous period (fiscal year ended January 31, 2023) |
9,242 | 1,194 | 1,203 | 895 | 84.24 |
Reason for revision
With respect to our cumulative performance in Q3, progress in career hires has been slow, however we have seen growth in both sales and profit due to an increase in the unit price of engineers and the placement of newly graduated engineers ahead of schedule.
As for full year performance, we anticipate that demand for engineers will continue to increase into the next year, with both net sales and profit also expected to exceed the initial plan.
Consequently, we will revise our full year forecast of non-consolidated financial results based on recent trends and our outlook for Q4.
2. Revisions to forecast of year-end dividends
Revisions to forecast of cash dividends
| Annual dividends per share | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second quarter-end | Fiscal year-end | Total | |||
| Previous forecast | Yen ー |
Yen 32.00 |
Yen 69.50 |
||
| Revised forecast | ー | 37.50 | 75.00 | ||
| Result | 37.50 | ー | ー | ||
| Results in previous period (fiscal year ended January 31, 2023) |
20.00 | 40.00 | 60.00 | ||
*The year-end results in the previous period include a commemorative dividend of ¥17.
Reason for revision
The Company comprehensively considers future business developments, earnings, the management environment, as well as the strengthening of its management foundations, and positions the supply of stable dividends to its shareholders as a top-priority management task. Moreover, with our policy to maintain a 50% payout ratio, we have set as our basic approach to continue to grow our profit this year to distribute dividends that are at least at the same amount as the previous year and continue to increase.
In respect of year-end dividends, as described above in “Revisions to forecast of non-consolidated financial results,” since both net sales and profit are expected to exceed the initial plan, we will increase the price of the initial forecast by ¥5.50, revising it to ¥37.50 per share. By doing so, we expect that annual dividends per share for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2024, will be ¥75 per share.
Note: The above forecast was created based on information available as of the announcement date of this document. Actual financial and other results may differ substantially from the statements herein due to various factors.
