IR Japan Holdings (6035): FY2025 Results Summary — Operating Profit Up 27.7% as Activist-Response Work Expands

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

IR Japan Holdings, Ltd. reported net sales of ¥6,141 million for fiscal 2025, the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, an increase of 6.2% year on year, with operating profit rising 27.7% to ¥1,283 million. The Company attributes the growth to accelerating flows of investment money into Japanese equities markets and increasingly active moves by activists, which lifted contingency response projects such as responses to activists, contests for corporate control and M&A responses by 14.0% year on year to ¥2,428 million. Ordinary response projects, including shareholder identification surveys and equity consulting, rose 1.6% to ¥3,713 million. The consolidated results forecast for fiscal 2026 has not been announced.

Consolidated Results (Full-Year Actual)

Net sales increased ¥358 million (6.2%) year on year to ¥6,141 million, operating profit increased ¥278 million (27.7%) to ¥1,283 million, ordinary profit increased ¥283 million (27.8%) to ¥1,301 million, and profit attributable to owners of parent increased ¥199 million (28.6%) to ¥898 million. EBITDA, defined in the materials as ordinary profit plus interest paid plus depreciation, was ¥1,639 million, up ¥286 million (21.2%). The table below also shows the results forecast the Company announced on March 27, 2026.

Item	FY2025 Amount (Millions of yen)	YoY change (Millions of yen)	YoY change (%)	Results forecast announced on Mar. 27, 2026 (Millions of yen)	FY2024 Amount (Millions of yen)
Net sales	6,141	358	6.2	6,130 (YoY +6.0%)	5,783
Operating profit	1,283	278	27.7	1,270 (YoY +26.3%)	1,005
Ordinary profit	1,301	283	27.8	1,228 (YoY +26.5%)	1,017
Profit attributable to owners of parent	898	199	28.6	890 (YoY +27.3%)	698
(Reference) EBITDA	1,639	286	21.2	ー	1,352

On the cost side, total cost of sales plus SG&A expenses came to ¥4,857 million, up ¥79 million from ¥4,778 million in the previous fiscal year. Personnel expenses, the largest fixed-cost item, increased ¥106 million to ¥2,291 million, while outsourcing costs recorded in cost of sales decreased ¥25 million to ¥246 million. Depreciation was ¥336 million, rent ¥440 million and IT-related expenses ¥558 million.

Project Mix: Contingency and Ordinary Response Projects

Contingency response projects, defined as deals handling PA (Proxy Advisory) and FA (Financial Advisory) services in contingency phases such as responses to activists, control contests and M&A responses, increased ¥0.29 billion (14.0%) year on year to ¥2.42 billion, while ordinary response projects, defined as equity consulting services in normal times, increased ¥0.06 billion (1.6%) to ¥3.71 billion. Large-scale projects of ¥50 million or more numbered 18 in fiscal 2025 versus 14 a year earlier, with sales of ¥1,437 million against ¥1,442 million, while normal projects of less than ¥50 million generated ¥4,704 million, up ¥363 million year on year.

Large-scale project type	FY2025 (Millions of yen)	FY2024 (Millions of yen)	Change
PA/FA for contest for corporate control	162	96	66
PA/FA response to activists	1,012	988	23
Corporate FA (M&A, etc.)	263	358	-95
Total	1,437	1,442	-5

Segment Results

By business segment, IR・SR Consulting generated sales of ¥5,864 million, 95.5% of the total and up 7.1% year on year. Disclosure Consulting recorded ¥191 million, 3.1% of the total and down 8.7%, while Database/Other recorded ¥86 million, 1.4% of the total and down 11.1%.

Segment	FY2025 Amount (Millions of yen)	Percent of total (%)	YoY change (%)	FY2024 Amount (Millions of yen)
IR・SR Consulting	5,864	95.5	7.1	5,477
Disclosure Consulting	191	3.1	-8.7	209
Database/Other	86	1.4	-11.1	97

Fiscal 2026 Forecast

The Company states that the consolidated results forecast for fiscal 2026 has not been announced, as it is difficult to calculate a reasonable results forecast at this time due to the nature of the Group’s business, and that it will promptly disclose the consolidated results forecast as soon as it becomes possible to calculate it.

Shareholder Returns

For fiscal 2025 the year-end dividend is ¥15 per share, bringing the full-year dividend including the interim dividend of ¥13 to ¥28 per share, for a payout ratio of 55.3%. Dividends for fiscal 2026 remain to be determined; the Company states they will be determined with a target consolidated dividend payout ratio of approximately 50%, while comprehensively taking into account the dividend sources of IR Japan Holdings, Ltd. as well as the necessity of maintaining the stable equity ratio of its subsidiary IR Japan, Inc., which is a Type I Financial Instruments Business Operator. Total shareholder return as of March 31, 2026 was 103.01% on a one-year basis, 29.80% on a three-year basis, 5.13% on a five-year basis and 610.11% since listing on March 17, 2011.

Dividend per share	Interim	Year-end	Full-year	Payout ratio (%)
FY2024	¥10	¥10	¥20	50.8
FY2025	¥13	¥15	¥28	55.3
FY2026 (forecast)	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Market Environment and Growth Investments

According to IR Japan estimates based on data released by funds and media reports, the number of activist funds active in Japan reached 75 in 2026 as of May 14, and investment in Japanese equities by activists operating in Japan reached ¥16,700 billion in 2026 as of May 14, up from ¥13,200 billion in 2025. The Company states that the number of shareholder proposals is on pace to reach an all-time high.

After strengthening its Groupwide management framework from 2023 to 2025, the Group describes 2026 onward as a phase of accelerating growth investments. In human capital, it is raising the starting monthly salary for new graduates to 400,000 yen, which ranked it in the top 10 of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun’s FY2026 starting salary rankings, increasing salary levels for all employees, recruiting highly specialized talent, and establishing a new October entry from 2026 in addition to year-round hiring. In growth areas, it is continuously strengthening investment in information security, expanding investment in AI and data utilization fields, and promoting new business investment and M&A in the capital markets sector.

Topics: Stock Transfer Agency Business and Media Reports

In the stock transfer agency business, entrustments with 93 companies have been completed and the number of shareholders under administration reached 570,372 as of March 31, 2026. Regarding media reports that consolidated subsidiary IR Japan, Inc. (IRJ) and SMBC Trust Bank Ltd. are terminating their business alliance, the Company explains that in August of last year, one year prior to the expiration of the contract period, IRJ made a preliminary proposal to SMBC Trust Bank for termination of the business alliance in the stock transfer agency business, and that while such a termination is being considered, no decision has been made at this time. The Company adds that the alliance encompasses only the stock transfer agency business and is extremely limited in scope, and that even if it were terminated, its business relationships with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, its main financing bank, and SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., its lead underwriter, would not be affected.

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.