■Performance Trends

2. Earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending 2025/3

Regarding the earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending 2025/3, Serendip Holdings (7318) anticipates a significant increase in net profit of 21,800 million yen (up 10.2% from the previous fiscal year), operating income of 800 million yen (up 67.4% from the same period), ordinary income of 735 million yen (up 23.3% from the same period), and net income attributable to parent company shareholders of 546 million yen (up 5.2% from the same period), and it is expected that it will continue to update the highest profit.

In addition to the expected results of sowing seeds such as M&A and productivity improvement measures that have been carried out up to the 2024/3 fiscal year, a significant increase in profit was expected due to Lady Bird's full-year contribution, the occurrence of earnings that were off the fiscal year from the previous fiscal year, and the extinction of advance expenses that occurred in the previous fiscal year. However, costs are only slightly factored into M&A, and if there is an M&A in the first half, profit contributions to full-year results can be expected, but if there is an M&A in the second half, it would be necessary to keep in mind the occurrence of advance costs. Nonetheless, immediately after a downward revision from the revised forecast, the company also wants to meet market expectations for growth, so the earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending 2025/3 is thought to be a minimum commitment.

By segment, it is an automotive supplier in the manufacturing business, where automobile production is maintained at a high level, capital investment and R&D are also expected to be on a recovery trend, and product development incorporating EV-related parts and quietness needs are planned, and there is also a profit contribution from Ladybird, and a significant increase in sales and profit is expected. In the professional solutions business, in addition to continuing strong sales of IT consulting, services such as RX (robot transformation) to support the introduction of collaborative robots, KX (kaizen transformation) to improve manufacturing sites with IoT tools, and ERP introduction in partnership with foreign IT companies have also started, aiming to provide flexible and quick solutions by utilizing cross-selling, leading to a significant increase in sales and profit (surplus) transformation) is anticipated. In the investment business, as business succession needs further increase due to the progress of aging, we anticipate a drastic increase in sales with plans to continue promoting business succession support through flow type investments and joint funds, but it is expected that profit will decrease due to active recruitment.

(Written by FISCO Visiting Analyst Miyata Hitomitsu)