World Holdings (2429): FY2025 Results Summary — Sales and Profits Up on Semiconductor and Logistics HR Demand

This article is based on publicly available IR materials and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any specific securities.

WORLD HOLDINGS CO., LTD. (TSE Prime, 2429) reported net sales of 284,350 million yen for FY2025 (the fiscal year ended December 2025), up 17.4% year on year, with operating profit of 10,820 million yen (up 25.9%), ordinary profit of 10,867 million yen (up 27.1%) and profit attributable to owners of parent of 6,620 million yen (up 32.9%). Every one of these four items also came in above the company plan. Management attributes the increase to a diversified business portfolio covering many industries, which allowed activities to benefit even as the business climate remained uncertain due to U.S. tariffs and other factors. Growth in the semiconductor and logistics categories of the Human Resources and Education Business, the absence of the one-time expenses for moving people to different jobs that were incurred in 2024, and large property sales in the Real Estate Business in 2025 were cited as reasons for the increase.

Consolidated Results (FY2025 Actual)

Sales and profits were generally as planned mainly in the core Human Resources and Education Business. Ordinary profit and net income were higher than planned because of subsidy income and other reasons. Net sales exceeded the plan by 2,911 million yen (1.0%), operating profit by 641 million yen (6.3%), ordinary profit by 1,511 million yen (16.2%) and profit attributable to owners of parent by 1,231 million yen (22.9%).

Item (Million yen)	FY2024 Actual	FY2025 Plan	FY2025 Actual	YoY Change	YoY Pct. change
Net sales	242,226	281,439	284,350	42,124	17.4%
Operating profit	8,593	10,179	10,820	2,227	25.9%
Ordinary profit	8,551	9,356	10,867	2,316	27.1%
Profit attributable to owners of parent	4,981	5,389	6,620	1,639	32.9%
Depreciation	1,026	–	1,165	139	12.0%
Amortization of goodwill	1,082	–	1,113	31	2.9%

Segment Results

In the Manufacturing Human Resources Business, performance remained steady in the semiconductor sector mainly for AI, and despite negative effects of U.S. tariffs the business used its strength in covering many market sectors to diversify risk exposure; sales and profits were up generally as planned. The temporary placement workforce of this business (three-month average) rose 6.1% year on year from 21,230 to 22,528 persons. In the Services Human Resources Business, sales and profits were up and exceeded the plan due to the strong performance of the logistics sector, including subcontracted warehouse operations for e-commerce firms and Yamato Staff Supply; its temporary placement workforce increased 18.5% from 33,016 to 39,129 persons. In the Real Estate Business, sales were below the plan partly due to a decision to postpone some sales, while profits were higher than planned mainly because of BIZIA KOKURA and other large properties, higher real estate prices, the use of suitable selling prices based on highly accurate marketing activities, and larger than anticipated cost reductions. The Information and Telecommunications Business exceeded the plan as the performance of mobile phone shops improved through a scrap-and-build approach. The Agricultural Park Business recorded a loss: the number of park visitors decreased because of heavy snow in February, many rainy days during the peak spring period and record-setting summer heat, and the Osaka Expo drew visitors away from agricultural parks.

Segment	Metric (Million yen)	FY2024 Actual	FY2025 Plan	FY2025 Actual	YoY Pct. change
Human Resources and Education Business	Net sales	189,201	203,498	211,785	11.9%
Human Resources and Education Business	Segment profit	5,003	5,943	6,707	34.1%
Manufacturing Human Resources Business	Net sales	110,347	119,611	121,232	9.9%
Manufacturing Human Resources Business	Segment profit	3,308	4,402	4,414	33.4%
Services Human Resources Business	Net sales	78,853	83,887	90,552	14.8%
Services Human Resources Business	Segment profit	1,695	1,540	2,293	35.3%
Real Estate Business	Net sales	38,863	63,259	57,128	47.0%
Real Estate Business	Segment profit	3,001	3,587	3,654	21.7%
Information and Telecommunications Business	Net sales	8,703	8,991	9,783	12.4%
Information and Telecommunications Business	Segment profit	101	120	157	55.9%
Agricultural Park Business	Net sales	5,457	5,690	5,652	3.6%
Agricultural Park Business	Segment profit	169	181	-40	-123.6%

FY2026 Forecast

World Holdings will retain a cautious stance for business operations because the business climate is expected to remain uncertain, targeting steady growth by taking full advantage of its diversified business portfolio. The FY2026 plan calls for net sales of 300,326 million yen (up 5.6%) and operating profit of 12,500 million yen (up 15.5%). In the core Human Resources and Education Business the goal is sales and profit growth while using activities that span many business sectors for risk diversification. In the Real Estate Business the plan is profit growth backed by land development expertise and an increase in recurring revenue from leases and other sources, as well as sales of new condominiums; sales are expected to decrease because FY2025 included the BIZIA KOKURA sale. The company notes that most profits fall in the fourth quarter, because most Real Estate Business sales and deliveries of condominium and other property ownership occur in that quarter.

Item (Million yen)	FY2025 Actual	FY2026 Plan	Change	Pct. change
Net sales	284,350	300,326	15,976	5.6%
Operating profit	10,820	12,500	1,680	15.5%
Ordinary profit	10,867	11,799	931	8.6%
Profit attributable to owners of parent	6,620	6,966	345	5.2%

Segment	Metric (Million yen)	FY2025 Actual	FY2026 Plan	Pct. change
Human Resources and Education Business	Net sales	211,785	232,869	10.0%
Human Resources and Education Business	Segment profit	6,707	7,644	14.0%
Manufacturing Human Resources Business	Net sales	121,232	133,375	10.0%
Manufacturing Human Resources Business	Segment profit	4,414	5,106	15.7%
Services Human Resources Business	Net sales	90,552	99,493	9.9%
Services Human Resources Business	Segment profit	2,293	2,538	10.7%
Real Estate Business	Net sales	57,128	50,692	-11.3%
Real Estate Business	Segment profit	3,654	4,102	12.3%
Information and Telecommunications Business	Net sales	9,783	10,877	11.2%
Information and Telecommunications Business	Segment profit	157	175	10.8%
Agricultural Park Business	Net sales	5,652	5,887	4.2%
Agricultural Park Business	Segment profit	-40	90	–

Financial Position and Cash Flows

Total assets at the end of December 2025 were 185,692 million yen, an increase of 11,322 million yen. Property, plant and equipment increased by 13.2 billion yen due to an increase in real estate properties that World Holdings has developed, funded mainly internally and by using debt, while real estate for sale and real estate for sale in process declined by 4.6 billion yen to 64,959 million yen due to the well-timed sales of these properties. Net assets rose to 53,546 million yen and interest-bearing debt stood at 87,877 million yen. The equity ratio was 26.6%, up 1.1 point from the end of 2024. Operating cash flows were positive at 14,787 million yen mainly because of an increase in profit before income taxes and a decrease in real estate for sale; investing cash flows were negative at 16,763 million yen because of purchases of property, plant and equipment and investment securities; and financing cash flows were negative at 1,805 million yen resulting from long-term borrowings. Cash and cash equivalents were down 3,660 million yen.

Shareholder Returns

World Holdings’ basic policy is to distribute profits according to business performance while securing the necessary internal reserves for future business development and strengthening its management structure. In order to further enhance returns to shareholders, the company changed its dividend payout ratio target from the previous 30% to 35% from FY2025, aiming for stable and continuous dividend growth. The FY2025 dividend was raised to 129.5 yen from the initial forecast of 106.2 yen per share due to profit exceeding the initial forecast, and the company is planning on another dividend increase for FY2026, raising the dividend per share by 6.8 yen to 136.3 yen.

Item	FY2024	FY2025	FY2026 (Forecast)
Dividend per share (Yen)	84.2	129.5	136.3

Medium-Term Plan and Cost of Capital

FY2025 was the fourth year of the current medium-term management plan, described by the company as a year of a cautious stance due to the impact of U.S. tariffs. During the first two years of the plan sales and profits were higher than planned, but profits were below the plan in the third and fourth years. Against the medium-term management plan for FY2025, net sales were 14.8% higher and operating profit was 14.2% lower: the plan called for 247.6 billion yen of net sales and 12.6 billion yen of operating profit, against actual results of 284.3 billion yen and 10.8 billion yen. Against the initial plan for the year, net sales were 1.0% higher and operating profit 6.3% higher. The fifth year of the plan, FY2026, has an initial medium-term plan of 275.0 billion yen of net sales and 15.0 billion yen of operating profit.

Based on the capital asset pricing model and the expected return approach, World Holdings estimates its cost of equity at about 9% to 11%. ROE rose to 14.1% in FY2025 from 11.8% in FY2024 as profits increased, and the year-end PBR was 1.04 times versus 0.87 times a year earlier. ROIC and WACC are used for monitoring the performance of business segments, and in the Real Estate Business project profitability and the IRR are also used for real estate development operations. The company’s stated policy is to maintain an ROE higher than the cost of equity by maintaining or increasing the net profit margin, raising asset turnover through sales growth in the asset-efficient Human Resources and Education Business, and maintaining an equity ratio of 25-30%.

This article is an analysis based on publicly available information and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any specific securities. Investment decisions are your own responsibility.