VECTOR (6058): FY2025 Results Summary — Record Sales and Profit as PR TIMES and Strategic PR Lead Growth

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

Note: VECTOR’s fiscal year ends in February. The company labels the fiscal year just completed as “FY2/26” and the current fiscal year as “FY2/27”; on this site the most recently completed fiscal year is classified as FY2025, while the labels used in the text, tables and segment data below follow the company’s own materials.

VECTOR INC. reported record consolidated results for FY2/26, with net sales of JPY63,794 million (107.7% YoY) and operating profit of JPY9,116 million (113.5% YoY). Ordinary profit rose to JPY9,144 million (119.4% YoY) and profit attributable to owners of parent to JPY5,109 million (121.8% YoY). The company states that it achieved all of its FY2/26 plan metrics for sales, operating profit, ordinary income and profit attributable to owners of parent, helped by robust Strategic PR, taxi signage, press release distribution and direct marketing, and by the return to profit of two businesses that had been lossmaking in FY2/25 (NewsTV and South Korea). The annual dividend was raised by JPY1 to JPY33 per share.

Consolidated Results (Full-Year Actual)

Gross profit reached JPY42,649 million (108.5% YoY) and EBITDA, defined by the company as operating profit plus depreciation plus amortization of goodwill, was JPY10,559 million (115.4% YoY). Against plan, net sales came in at 101.3%, operating profit at 107.3%, ordinary profit at 110.2% and profit attributable to owners of parent at 102.2%. SG&A expenses totaled JPY33,533 million (107.2% YoY), and the consolidated number of employees was 1,571 (95.2% YoY), which the company attributes to the deconsolidation of ASHITA-TEAM on February 27, 2026.

Item (JPY million)	FY2/25	FY2/26	Difference	YoY Change
Net Sales	59,254	63,794	+4,539	107.7%
Gross Profit	39,308	42,649	+3,341	108.5%
EBITDA	9,148	10,559	+1,411	115.4%
Operating Profit	8,029	9,116	+1,087	113.5%
Ordinary Profit	7,655	9,144	+1,488	119.4%
Profit before income taxes	7,290	8,891	+1,601	122.0%
Profit attributable to owners of parent	4,195	5,109	+914	121.8%

Segment Results

All three major businesses — PR and Advertising, Press Releases and Direct Marketing — performed well. In PR and Advertising, net sales, gross profit and operating profit all hit record highs, with gross profit of JPY20,559 million (113.5% YoY). Within that segment, the Strategic PR business (ANTIL, PLATINUM, INITIAL) posted net sales of JPY17,701 million (103.6% YoY), gross profit of JPY9,706 million (106.8% YoY) and operating profit of JPY4,413 million (101.3% YoY), with operating profit calculated by adding back royalties paid to VECTOR. The taxi signage business recorded net sales of JPY5,111 million (126.1% YoY) and gross profit of JPY2,499 million (133.9% YoY). The overseas PR business returned to full-year profitability on a recovery in the Korean business, with net sales of JPY3,669 million (104.0% YoY), gross profit of JPY1,839 million (132.5% YoY) and operating profit of JPY88 million, up JPY250 million year on year.

Segment	Net Sales FY2/26 (JPY million)	YoY	Operating Profit FY2/26 (JPY million)	YoY
Consolidated	63,794	107.7%	9,116	113.5%
PR and Advertising	34,870	107.3%	4,898	134.7%
Press Releases (PR TIMES)	9,546	119.3%	3,622	193.0%
Direct Marketing	16,350	120.9%	1,137	152.2%
HR	2,990	100.4%	-23	—
Investment	288	11.4%	-518	—

In the Press Release Distribution business (PR TIMES), functionality improvements and marketing investment produced record-high net sales, gross profit of JPY8,057 million (119.9% YoY) and operating profit. The number of user companies reached 124,813 (114.9% YoY) and the number of press release distributions reached 470,228 (115.7% YoY); the company describes PR TIMES as Japan’s No. 1 press release distribution platform, used by more than 65% of listed companies. Direct Marketing posted record net sales and gross profit of JPY12,453 million (117.9% YoY), while carrying out advertising and promotional investment; subsidiary Vitabrid Japan Inc. was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on 2 April 2026. In HR, JOBTV revenue increased slightly on strong new-graduate events, but profit fell due to margin deterioration in BUSiCONET’s staffing business and investment in Clinic TV Inc. In the Investment business, because consolidated earnings improved more than expected on growth elsewhere, the company strategically pushed back the sale of holdings to FY2/27 or later.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flows

Item (JPY million)	FY2/25 End	FY2/26 End	Difference	YoY Change
Total assets	42,881	47,293	+4,412	110.3%
Cash and deposits	17,125	22,273	+5,158	130.1%
Goodwill	2,976	2,756	-120	95.9%
Total liabilities	21,544	20,152	-1,392	93.5%
Borrowings + bonds	10,514	7,595	-2,918	72.2%
Net assets	21,337	27,141	+5,804	127.2%

Cash flows from operating activities were JPY10,349 million, up JPY4,673 million year on year, which the company attributes to existing businesses performing well. Cash flows from investing activities were -JPY3,149 million on an increase in payments for acquisition of shares of subsidiaries, and cash flows from financing activities were -JPY2,092 million, reflecting the sale of some PR TIMES shares. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period stood at JPY22,273 million.

FY2/27 Forecast

For FY2/27 the company plans net sales of JPY68,000 million (106.6% YoY) and operating profit of JPY10,000 million (109.7% YoY), which it notes still corresponds to the JPY10 billion target in its medium-term management plan. The plan is weighted to the second half, with Direct Marketing continuing the pattern of investing in H1 and securing profits in H2, and HR expected to move from loss to profit as JOBTV turns around.

Item (JPY million)	FY2/26 (Actual)	FY2/27 (Plan)	YoY	FY2/27 H1	FY2/27 H2
Net Sales	63,794	68,000	106.6%	31,800	36,200
Operating Profit	9,116	10,000	109.7%	3,220	6,780
Ordinary Profit	9,144	9,800	107.2%	3,120	6,680
Profit attributable to owners of parent	5,109	5,500	107.7%	1,550	3,950

Profit plan by segment (JPY million)	FY2/26 (Actual)	FY2/27 (Plan)	YoY	FY2/27 H1	FY2/27 H2
Consolidated	9,116	10,000	109.7%	3,220	6,780
PR and Advertising	4,898	5,400	110.2%	2,300	3,100
Press Release	3,622	3,250	89.7%	1,650	1,600
Direct Marketing	1,137	1,250	109.9%	-550	1,800
HR	-23	100	—	-30	130
Investment	-518	0	—	-150	150

Shareholder Returns

In FY2/26 the company increased the FY2/25 dividend by JPY1, raising the dividend to JPY33 per share, against a payout ratio of 30.3% (FY2/25: JPY32 and 35.8%). It plans to keep paying dividends continuously from FY2/27 onwards, targeting a consolidated payout ratio of at least 30%, and on that basis the planned dividend for FY2/27 is JPY36 per share. The materials also state a policy of keeping ROE above 25%.

Medium-Term Plan and Topics

Centered on the PR and Advertising business, VECTOR says it aims to achieve both organic and non-linear growth, with a medium-term target of JPY20 billion in operating profit. Strategically, it is focusing on “PR x Short Video” measures, describing an ambition to move from the JPY150 billion PR market toward the JPY8 trillion advertising market and to become a “Fast Company” in the advertising industry. It cites Dentsu’s “2025 Advertising Expenditures in Japan” for the JPY8 trillion market breakdown, and CyberAgent / Digital InFact data showing the short video market reaching JPY90 billion in 2024, a 171.1% increase year on year, and projected to reach JPY116.3 billion in 2025 and JPY208.8 billion by 2028. In client acquisition it targets a customer base of 3,000 clients within three years.

On M&A, the basic policy is to focus on areas that contribute to expanding the group’s PR x Short Video initiatives, to avoid large targets in favor of small and medium-sized ones, and to target an EV/EBITDA ratio of 5–7x. During FY2/26 the company acquired gracemode Inc. (social media account management in beauty and cosmetics; acquisition price JPY1.49 billion, acquisition date April 30, 2025), Storicity, Inc. of South Korea (travel content production and media management; KRW7.58 billion, c. JPY750 million, April 30, 2025), and the gourmet media channel Connect Tokyo Gourmet (JPY50 million, October 1, 2025) alongside the establishment of Top Creators Co., Ltd. At the same time it proceeded with the sale of 6 companies and the liquidation of 1 company, posting a profit on sales of shares in affiliated companies of JPY2,151 million.

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.