Ateam Holdings Co., Ltd. (3662.T) Q1 FY2026 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you for attending Ateam Holdings Fiscal Year 2026 First Quarter Financial Results Briefing. These are the highlights, which I will explain in a while. Today's presentation will focus on these 3 points. First, regarding the summary of our first quarter consolidated financial results. Revenue and adjusted EBITDA decreased slightly both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. Against our forecast, we are making solid progress in terms of profit, and we were able to start this fiscal year more or less in line with our expectation. Revenue, JPY 5.529 billion; adjusted EBITDA, JPY 287 million; ordinary income, JPY 234 million and quarterly net income was JPY 295 million. This shows the progress of each figure. The strong progress in net income was due to the gain from the sale of Ateam Finergy. I will come back to this later. Revenue decreased slightly. Despite a slight drop in revenue, we secured profit, thanks to the impact of cost reduction efforts, which have been underway since last fiscal year. The results by segment are as follows: First, the Digital Marketing business in blue. Revenue was JPY 4.640 billion. Adjusted EBITDA was JPY 492 million and operating income was JPY 493 million. The Entertainment business is in orange. Revenue was JPY 888 million, adjusted EBITDA, JPY 36 million and operating income was JPY 36 million. This is the quarterly performance trend for the Digital Marketing business. Both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, revenue decreased, but profit increased. We have prioritized profitability in managing the business. In terms of revenue, we have consolidated 4 companies acquired through M&A due to the exclusion of Ateam Finergy following the transfer of shares and lower revenue from some existing media. Overall revenue decreased slightly. In terms of adjusted EBITDA, our automotive-related media business generating traffic of potential car owners for appraisals saw a decrease in profit due to increased advertising expense resulting from intensified competition to attract customers. In other businesses, we cut back advertising investment and prioritized profit management, resulting in increased profit both Y-o-Y and Q-on-Q basis. In the Entertainment business, we maintained profit through efficient operation of existing titles and collaborative projects. While existing titles continue to experience a downward trend, the decline itself is quite small. We will continue to efficiently manage existing titles and reduce costs while strengthening collaborative projects to offset the downward trend, thereby ensuring profit. Some collaboration agreements were terminated due to external factors, resulting in a year-on-year decrease in profit. But overall, we maintained to be positive. The graph on the left shows the percentage of revenue from collaborations. The ratio has decreased, but as I mentioned earlier, this is due to the termination of some collaboration projects. This is the trend of consolidated quarterly performance. Next, I'll cover the topics in the first quarter. These are the 3 points. Completion of the M&A of Signity Inc., transfer of shares of our subsidiary, Ateam Finergy and announcement of a new game title currently being developed jointly with Sanrio. Each of these topics has a relevant strategy written on top of it. We made strategic investment as a part of growth strategy focusing on M&A. Second point is the result of optimizing our business portfolio. And third, we implemented a business policy aimed at reducing volatility in the entertainment business. First, let's talk about Signity. This is the profile of the company. 13 employees, the acquisition price was JPY 1.050 billion. For the funding, bank loan was used. We borrowed with the aim of optimizing our capital structure. With Signity, we have identified the costs that can potentially be reduced after the M&A. We added profits, taking business growth into account and the price relative to the potential profit is deemed reasonable. This graph in gray, these figures represent the planned reductions for this fiscal year 2026 and onwards. These figures represent advisory fees and adjustments. In comparison, the EBITDA multiple is approximately 6x, which we believe is within a reasonable range. This is Push One, a service provided by Signity. It is a B2B SaaS model, service for businesses. This service is used by various website operators. They provide a service that allows operators to send push notifications directly to website users via their sites. This is a push notification from the website without using an app. For example, an e-commerce client. If a consumer forgets about an item in their shopping cart, a notification saying there's still an item in your cart can be sent, potentially leading to a conversion. This service can improve website operations. This service is provided to the clients on a monthly fee basis. These are the synergies with us, bottom left, as we move toward becoming a sales supporting company to acquire and develop new customers, we believe these products will be extremely easy to sell. These products can serve as a gateway to expanding our various services to our clients. On the right, shows introduction to existing businesses. We believe this service will become a tool that our clients can use to strengthen their customer acquisition efforts. These 2 points represent the synergies between Signity and Ateam Group. Next, the second topic. On August 1, 2025, we completed the transfer of shares in Ateam Finergy. The company's business is an insurance agency service called NaviNavi Insurance. And we transferred the shares to Sasuke Financial Lab at the price you see on the slide. The background to this share transfer was outlined in our midterm management plan. It is a part of our efforts to reduce risk volatility to optimize our business portfolio. This was the result of restructuring our business to maximize our business value. And third, our entertainment business. This is Fragaria Memories. We have publicly announced the production of this title. This is a media mix of the chivalry fantasy Fragaria Memories currently being developed by Sanrio. As the first smartphone game, it's a title that many fans and users are looking forward to. Finally, here are our 2026 earnings and dividend forecast. As was announced last fiscal year, our forecasts are as follows: revenue, JPY 24.5 billion; adjusted EBITDA, JPY 1.5 billion; EBITDA, JPY 1.3 billion; operating income, JPY 900 million; ordinary profit, JPY 900 million; and net income, JPY 600 million. With the aim of enhancing shareholder returns, we will pay out dividends in 2 installments, an interim dividend and a year-end dividend. The full year dividend will be increased from JPY 22 per share last fiscal year to JPY 28. And interim dividend and year-end dividend, 2x, JPY 14 each on January 31 and July 31. Total amount is JPY 28. As a result, our dividend payout ratio will be 86.6%. Next, I would like to touch upon our shareholder return policy announced last fiscal year. To achieve this, we have decided to introduce a progressive dividend. We have established a shareholder benefit program to increase the attractiveness of our shares as an investment destination and to increase liquidity. Shareholders who hold at least 5 units of our stock will be eligible to receive a JPY 20,000 QUO card. Twice a year, at the end of January and July, we will offer JPY 10,000 QUO card each. This has been very well received by many shareholders. On that note, this will conclude my explanation. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]