Sapporo Holdings (2501) Q1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenue rose 5.2% year-over-year to ¥118.7bn, driven by strong domestic beer sales and pre-price revision demand, despite overseas declines.

• Core operating profit improved by ¥2.9bn to a ¥0.9bn loss, aided by higher Alcoholic Beverages revenue and lower IT investment.

• Net loss attributable to owners widened to ¥4.2bn, mainly due to impairment losses, foreign exchange losses, and absence of prior-year asset sale gains.

• Alcoholic beverages (Japan) and real estate drove growth, while overseas alcoholic beverages and food & soft drinks saw declines.

• Progress continues on the Group's Medium- to Long-Term Growth Strategy, including a planned transition to a holding company structure in July 2026.

Financial highlights

• EBITDA surged to ¥4.6bn from ¥1.3bn year-over-year, reflecting improved core operations.

• Free cash flow turned positive at ¥1.9bn, up from negative ¥9.1bn year-over-year.

• Overseas revenue fell 6.8% to ¥26.6bn.

• Core operating profit margin improved from -3.4% to -0.7%.

• Total assets decreased 5% to ¥634.2bn, and equity attributable to owners fell to ¥184.2bn.

Outlook and guidance

• FY2025 revenue forecast is ¥532.0bn (+0.2%), with core operating profit of ¥24.5bn (+11.2%) and operating profit of ¥20.0bn (+92.0%).

• Net profit attributable to owners projected at ¥11.0bn (+42.6%), EPS at ¥141.16.

• ROE target of 8% or higher by 2026 remains unchanged; long-term ROE target is 10%+.

• Dividend forecast maintained at ¥60 per share for FY2025.

• Considering external capital injection or share sale in real estate business, with a decision expected by end of 2025.