Nihon M&A Center Holdings (2127): FY2025 Results Summary — Record Sales and Ordinary Profit, Mid-Term Target Achieved a Year Early

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

Nihon M&A Center Holdings Inc. closed FY2025, the fiscal year to March 2026, with increases in both revenue and profit: sales of 50,257 ¥mn (+14.0% YoY) and ordinary profit of 19,154 ¥mn (+13.2% YoY). Both figures exceeded the company’s original full-year earnings forecasts, which the materials describe as the first simultaneous achievement in five fiscal years, and the next fiscal year’s targets set under the Mid-term Management Plan were achieved one year ahead of schedule. The company states that, after moving through a recovery phase following the misconduct, it is transitioning to a renewed growth phase, and it has defined FY2026 as the start of its second founding.

Consolidated Results (Full-Year Actual)

Sales rose 14.0% to 50,257 ¥mn against a full-year forecast of 46,300 ¥mn, an achievement rate of 108.5%. Ordinary profit rose 13.2% to 19,154 ¥mn against a forecast of 17,000 ¥mn, an achievement rate of 112.7%. The ordinary profit margin was 38.1%, a 0.3 percentage point decrease versus the prior year. Cost of sales increased 15.0% and SGA expenses increased 15.3%; within cost of sales, referral fees were 6,557 ¥mn, up 1,173 ¥mn versus the prior year, with the referral fee ratio at 13.0%, a 0.8 percentage point increase versus the prior year. IT costs within SGA expenses were 1,091 ¥mn.

In the financial year to March 2026 the company reclassified its employees in order to make categorization more explicit. As a result of the change, the prior year’s cost of sales reduces by 1,924 ¥mn and SGA expenses increase by 1,924 ¥mn (as reported 19,298 ¥mn versus 17,374 ¥mn reclassified), while total employee costs of 27,361 ¥mn are unchanged. Prior-year comparatives in the income statement below are shown on the reclassified basis used in the materials.

Item (¥mn)	FY2025	FY2024	YoY	FY2025 full-year forecast
Sales	50,257	44,077	14.0	46,300
(o/w M&A sales)	48,488	42,709	13.5	—
Cost of sales	19,979	17,374	15.0	—
Gross profit	30,277	26,703	13.4	—
SGA expenses	11,516	9,987	15.3	—
Operating profit	18,761	16,715	12.2	17,000
Ordinary profit	19,154	16,918	13.2	17,000
Net profit	12,515	10,968	14.1	—
Profit attributable to parent company	12,487	10,955	14.0	11,000

Key Operating Indicators

The full-year number of transactions closed declined year on year, from 1,078 to 1,061, while M&A sales per transaction rose to 45.7 ¥mn. The company attributes the higher revenue per transaction to further benefits from policies for mid-cap companies, an increasing share of mid-sized deals and a significant decline in the share of small-sized deals. The number of new sell-side mandates, a leading indicator, also declined, which the company explains as a deliberate shift from a high-volume mandate acquisition policy to a mandate acceptance policy that emphasizes deal quality; the median preparatory period was shortened to about 60 days and remained stable.

Indicator	FY2025	FY2024	YoY change
Total number of transactions closed (by no. of companies)	1,061	1,078	-1.6% (-17)
Number of sell-side transactions closed	528	539	—
Number of buy-side transactions closed	533	539	—
Total number of deals	542	554	—
M&A sales (¥mn)	48,488	42,709	13.5
M&A sales per transaction (¥mn)	45.7	39.6	+15.4% (+6.1)
Large transactions closed (total success fees in excess of 100 ¥mn, no. of deals)	115	—	+45.6% (+36)
Number of new sell-side mandates	1,283	1,432	—
Budget achiever ratio	62.5%	50.0%	+12.5pt
Budget-achieving department ratio	67.4%	29.7%	+37.7pt
M&A consultants (period end)	626	630	-4
Total employees, consolidated (period end)	1,062	1,086	—

On the balance sheet, total assets were 66,223 ¥mn at end-March 2026, a change of 4,436 ¥mn, including cash and deposits of 40,447 ¥mn. Net assets were 50,643 ¥mn, or 76.5% of total liabilities and net assets, and interest bearing liabilities were 4,000 ¥mn. The company describes this as maintaining a healthy balance sheet.

Business Breakdown: M&A and Other Activities

The materials disclose a split between M&A sales and other sales. M&A sales were 48,488 ¥mn (113.5% YoY) and other sales were 1,768 ¥mn (129.2% YoY), with the company noting that growth in the PMI business and other related activities drove the 29.2% YoY increase in other sales. The company notes that the prior-year gross profit shown in this breakdown does not take into account the change in personnel classification and therefore differs from the figures presented on other pages of the materials.

Item (¥mn)	FY2025	Ratio	YoY	FY2024
M&A sales	48,488	100.0%	113.5%	42,709
M&A cost of sales (referral fees and outsourcing expenses)	6,557	13.5%	121.8%	5,384
M&A gross profit	41,931	86.5%	112.3%	37,325
Other sales	1,768	100.0%	129.2%	1,368
Other cost of sales	447	25.3%	154.5%	289
Other gross profit	1,320	74.7%	122.5%	1,078
Unallocated cost of sales (personnel, transportation, other)	12,973	25.8%	95.2%	13,624
Gross profit	30,277	60.2%	122.2%	24,779

FY2026 Forecast

For FY2026 the company forecasts sales of 52,800 ¥mn (+5.1% versus the FY2025 result) and ordinary profit of 19,300 ¥mn (+0.8%), with profit attributable to parent company of 13,400 ¥mn (+7.3%) and earnings per share of 41.91 yen (+6.5%). The company positions the forecast as exceeding the Mid-term Management Plan and says it is accelerating the return to its original performance achievement cycle through various initiatives, including improving the progress rate of the ninth-month period.

Item	H1	H2	Full year	FY2025 (Actual)	Compared to FY2025 results
Sales (¥mn)	23,900	28,900	52,800	50,257	+5.1%
Operating profit (¥mn)	8,600	10,700	19,300	18,761	+2.9%
Ordinary profit (¥mn)	8,600	10,700	19,300	19,154	+0.8%
Profit attributable to parent company (¥mn)	6,200	7,200	13,400	12,487	+7.3%
Earnings per share (¥)	19.46	22.45	41.91	39.36	+6.5%

Shareholder Returns

The dividend per share for FY2025 is ¥29, giving a pay-out ratio of 73.7%; this is scheduled to be submitted for approval at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 25 June 2026. For FY2026 the company forecasts an annual dividend of ¥29 per share, a pay-out ratio of 71.3%, and states that it plans to maintain a ¥29 dividend per share including a ¥4 special dividend. The policy of a dividend pay-out ratio of 60% or more is to be continued during the mid-term management plan period. ROE was 25.7% in FY2025 and is shown at 24.4% for the FY2026 forecast, with the company stating that ROE is to progress over 20%.

Mid-Term Management Plan and Next Genesis (Vision 300)

In FY2025 the company achieved its mid-term management target one year ahead of schedule. Under the Mid-term Management Plan the FY2026 targets are consolidated sales of 50,000 ¥mn and consolidated ordinary profit of 18,000 ¥mn, and the FY2027 targets are consolidated sales of 54,000 ¥mn and consolidated ordinary profit of 20,000 ¥mn; the FY2026 forecast of 52,800 ¥mn in sales and 19,300 ¥mn in ordinary profit stands above the plan figure for that year. To mark the 35th anniversary of its founding, the company formulated “Next Genesis (Vision 300),” which sets the year ending March 2033 as its target year with an FY2032 target of ordinary profit of ¥30 billion. To achieve that target the company aims to expand its business domains in addition to the domestic M&A intermediary business, citing the fund business, overseas activities and the PMI business as priority areas.

Alongside the plan, the company announced the introduction of trust-type stock compensation plans for directors and employees, scheduled to be finalized upon resolution at the Annual General Meeting to be held on June 25, 2026, and an expansion and relocation of the Tokyo head office planned for spring 2029, consolidating four non-contiguous floors into two floors. It also redefined the Group’s Vision and renewed the existing Philosophy as Core Values, and restructured the sales organization into divisions covering listed companies, mid-sized companies and SMEs.

Topics

Equity-method affiliate Batonz. Co., Ltd. <554A> was newly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market on April 21, at an offering price of ¥660 and an opening price of ¥1,674 (+¥1,014, +153.6%); Batonz had closed 3,315 transactions to date as at February 28, 2026. In the PMI consulting business the group received 132 orders in FY2025, up from 93 in FY2024 and exceeding 40% YoY growth. In TOKYO PRO Market IPO support, the cumulative number of companies sponsored by Nihon M&A Center reached 49 out of 176 firms listed in total as at end-March 2026, with five new listings supported in the fourth quarter. Overseas, 17 M&A deals involving overseas companies were closed during FY2025, described as a record high for the full year, with five ASEAN locations now entering a full-fledged profit generation phase.

Share ownership as of 31 Mar 2026 comprised individuals 32.7%, financial institutions 29.1%, foreign investors 27.5%, treasury stock 5.8%, other corporations 2.4% and securities companies 2.4%, with 103,995 shareholders and 336,934,800 shares issued.

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.