Poppins Corporation (7358): FY2025 Results Summary — Record-High Profit as Family Care Services Accelerates

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

Poppins Corporation (7358) reported FY2025 net sales of ¥34,409 million (+8.6% yoy), operating profit of ¥1,840 million (+16.9% yoy) and profit attributable to owners of parent of ¥1,142 million (+47.1% yoy). The company describes the year as having “Achieved record-high profit.” Results surpassed the initial forecast released on February 14: net sales and operating profit exceeded their targets by ¥1.40 billion and ¥140 million, respectively. For FY2026 the company forecasts net sales of ¥36,700 million (+6.7%) and operating profit of ¥1,920 million (+4.3%).

Consolidated Results (Full-Year Actual)

Net sales progressed steadily, while gross profit growth (+13.7%) exceeded the growth rate of sales on a rise in the sales composition of the high-margin Family Care Services business; the gross margin improved from 20.8% to 21.8%. SG&A rose 12.7% on investment in concierge services for nanny and elderly care and in enhancing management/strategic planning across the Group, plus semi-variable costs associated with business growth (mainly payment and system-related expenses for the babysitter service, and non-deductible consumption taxes). Impairment losses on childcare facilities of ¥56 million were recorded, against ¥371 million in the previous fiscal year.

Item	FY2024	FY2025	YoY change (¥ million)	YoY change (%)
Net sales	31,690	34,409	2,719	+8.6
Cost of sales	25,106	26,921	1,814	+7.2
Gross profit	6,583	7,488	904	+13.7
SG&A	5,009	5,647	638	+12.7
Operating profit	1,574	1,840	266	+16.9
Ordinary profit	1,594	1,812	218	+13.7
Profit attributable to owners of parent	776	1,142	365	+47.1

Against the FY2025 earnings forecast of net sales ¥33,000 million and operating profit ¥1,700 million, actual results came in at ¥34,409 million (+1,409) and ¥1,840 million (+140). The company attributes the difference to strong performance in the Family Care Services business (positive), a profit decrease due to a shortage of human resources in the Edu-care business (negative), and a change in the timing of recognizing expenses for compensation improvement following the official price revisions made in accordance with the National Personnel Authority Recommendation (negative).

Segment Results

Family Care Services delivered strong sales and profit growth. In Edu-care, after-school facilities performed strongly, but profit declined due to a shortage of human resources — mitigated by strengthening measures to reduce recruitment costs and turnover — and the company revised the timing for recording expenses for compensation improvement following the official price revisions made in accordance with the National Personnel Authority Recommendation. Professional posted strong performance in both annual orders and training programs, including the re-securing of two major projects.

Segment	Metric	FY2024	FY2025	YoY change (¥ million)	YoY change (%)
Family Care Services	Net sales	6,729	8,202	1472	+21.9
Edu-care	Net sales	24,004	25,303	1299	+5.4
Professional	Net sales	628	717	88	+14.1
Other	Net sales	474	392	(81)	-17.2
Adjustment	Net sales	(146)	(206)	(60)	–
Total	Net sales	31,690	34,409	2719	+8.6
Family Care Services	Operating profit	1,360	1,744	384	+28.2
Edu-care	Operating profit	1,567	1,495	(71)	-4.6
Professional	Operating profit	112	195	83	+74.6
Other	Operating profit	2	6	4	+197.2
Adjustment	Operating profit	(1,468)	(1,602)	(133)	–
Total	Operating profit	1,574	1,840	266	+16.9

Family Care Services: Sales by Service

Within Family Care Services, the babysitter service continued to drive growth as, in the company’s description, the No. 1 online matching service in terms of scale; Nanny Premium performed solidly as the leader in terms of quality; and the elderly care service achieved annual sales of 1 billion yen on price revisions and new member growth. In the fourth quarter alone, year-on-year growth was +34.6% for the babysitter service, +9.0% for nanny and +22.9% for elderly care. Note that from FY25 1Q a portion of the consulting business previously included in the Family Care Services segment was reclassified into a different reporting segment, and prior-year figures have been restated accordingly.

Service (full-year net sales, ¥ million)	FY2024	FY2025
Nanny	2,441	2,556
– Nanny Premium	984	1,019
– corporate contracts	362	315
– local government	688	791
Babysitter	3,424	4,615
Childcare	5,866	7,172
– Core services	4,771	5,950
Elderly care	863	1,030
Family Care Services total	6,729	8,202

Edu-care: Facility Portfolio

The Edu-care business ended December 2025 with 325 facilities in total, against 338 at the end of December 2024. During 2025 the company opened 2 authorized nursery schools (plus 1 facility commissioned by a municipality to be authorized) and 3 after-school facilities, while closing 1 certified nursery school (a temporary closure for seismic retrofitting), 6 corporate nurseries, 9 after-school facilities and 3 other facilities. The company states that profit contribution from existing authorized, certified and corporate nursery schools was delayed due to a shortage of nursery school staff, and that it is focusing on strengthening hiring for April of next year, with steady progress including securing prospective hires.

Facility type	As of end Dec. 2024	As of end Dec. 2025
Authorized Nursery Schools	76	79
Small-scale Authorized Nursery Schools	7	7
Certified Centers for Early Childhood Education and Care	2	2
Certified Nursery Schools	30	29
Corporate Nursery Schools	75	69
(Of which, company-led)	39	37
After-school	100	94
ALS, PALIS etc.	4	4
Community halls	5	4
Other	39	37
Total	338	325

FY2026 Forecast

The company guides for net sales of ¥36,700 million and operating profit of ¥1,920 million in FY2026, stating that toward achieving the targets of the Medium-Term Management Plan 2030 (operating profit of ¥3.0 billion or higher by FY2030) it is implementing strategic forward-looking investments, including in DX initiatives and portfolio management. The impact of official price revisions (+5.3%) following FY2025 National Personnel Authority recommendations — increases in subsidy income and personnel expenses — have not been factored into the forecast.

Item	FY2025 (Actual)	FY2026 (Forecast)	YoY change (¥ million)	YoY change (%)
Net sales	34,409	36,700	2,290	+6.7
Operating profit	1,840	1,920	79	+4.3
Ordinary profit	1,812	1,880	67	+3.7
Profit attributable to owners of parent	1,142	1,200	57	+5.0

By segment, the company guides for FY2026 net sales growth in the “Mid-10% range” for Family Care Services, “Mid-single digits” for Edu-care and “Low single digits” for Professional; operating profit growth is guided at “Low- to mid- 10%”, “High single digits” and “Low single digits”, respectively. In Edu-care, the company has decided to open a total of eleven facilities (two authorized nursery schools, one certified nursery school reopening and eight after-school facilities) and plans to close ten facilities, including proactive closures from the perspective of optimizing portfolio management.

Shareholder Returns

The FY2025 dividend is ¥45 per share, an increase of ¥5 from the initial forecast, for a dividend payout ratio of 38.4% and DOE of 4.9%. For FY2026 the company forecasts ¥47 per share, an increase of ¥2, with a payout ratio of 38.2% and DOE of 4.8%. The materials note that year-end dividends for FY2025 are subject to a resolution by the Board of Directors scheduled for February 25, 2026; in its Articles of Incorporation, the Company designates the Board of Directors as the decision-making body for dividends.

Item	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025 (Plan)	FY2026 (Forecast)
Dividend per share (¥)	40	40	40	45	47
Dividend payout ratio (%)	47.0%	57.3%	50.1%	38.4%	38.2%
DOE (%)	5.0%	4.8%	4.7%	4.9%	4.8%

Medium-Term Plan and Topics

Group-wide ROIC was 10.0% in FY2025, up 2.0 percentage points year on year (FY2021 10.9%, FY2022 9.7%, FY2023 6.8%, FY2024 8.0%), which the company describes as steady improvement toward the 2030 target of 12%. ROIC by segment in FY2025 was 62.0% for Family Care Services, 5.7% for Edu-care and 14.5% for Professional.

On the balance sheet, total assets were ¥16,500 million at the end of FY2025 against ¥16,714 million a year earlier, with net assets of ¥9,261 million and a shareholders’ equity ratio of 56.1% at end-December 2025. Interest-bearing debt was reduced, with short-term borrowings down ¥600 million to ¥600 million and long-term borrowings down ¥658 million to ¥1,177 million. Cash flows from operating activities were ¥1,535 million (¥1,840 million in FY2024), investing activities were negative ¥366 million, and cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period stood at ¥7,606 million.

On the business environment, the company positions 2026 as “The Inaugural Year” of babysitting, citing the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s babysitter utilization support — with the annual usage limit doubled from 144 to 288 hours and the target age extended from preschoolers up to 3rd graders — and deliberations at the national level on providing tax credits for babysitter usage targeting a launch in summer 2026. It also cites the deregulation allowing authorized nursery schools to provide extracurricular childcare services, which it links to expansion of the high-margin Poppins Plus program. The total number of households that used Poppins services was 43,000+ in FY2025.

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.