3853.T

• Company and Business Model Overview

  • Asteria is a pure-play enterprise software product developer listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, with 140 consolidated employees, and does not perform any custom contract development, enabling high gross margin and scalable growth.
  • Its core mission is "connecting", reflected in its company name (derived from the Greek word for constellation), and all products deliver connectivity for different use cases.
  • Past negative impacts from investments in US listed stocks have been fully resolved after completing the sale of all holdings.

• No-Code Business and Market Context

  • Management positions no-code as the solution to the persistent and growing IT labor shortage in Japan, which traditional talent development initiatives cannot resolve.
  • No-code enables non-engineers to build business systems and applications without writing any code, unlocking on-site digital transformation across all industries.
  • The company won first place in Nikkei Computer's customer satisfaction survey for business efficiency improvement / in-house support software/services.

• Stablecoin (JPYC) Strategic Initiatives

  • Asteria has been engaged in stablecoin development since 2017, is a shareholder of Japan's first regulated yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC, and is the only Japanese company that connects both enterprises and individuals to the stablecoin ecosystem.
  • The company launched the JPYC Adapter for ASTERIA Warp, enabling JPYC to connect to over 100 existing enterprise systems including core ERP, financial accounting, cloud services, and AI tools, enabling corporate JPYC payments, settlement, and connection to decentralized finance (DeFi).
  • The acquired Click tool has been updated to support JPYC payments for consumer-facing apps, enabling one-tap JPYC transactions similar to existing mobile payment services, to drive JPYC adoption.
  • The company partnered with TECHFUND, Japan's leading Web3 audit firm, to conduct security audits for its stablecoin integration solutions.

• M&A and Product Expansion

  • Asteria completed the acquisition of MikoSea, developer of the no-code tool Click, expanding its addressable market to individual users and enterprise users requiring high screen design flexibility.
  • The combined product Platio Canvas (Platio + Click) was launched in September, extending the company's no-code offerings beyond on-site use cases to meet broader enterprise demand.

• Financial and Capital Return

  • Mid-term results achieved increased revenue and a 7x year-over-year increase in operating profit, returning to profit after prior mid-term losses, with a 79% equity capital ratio indicating a very strong financial position.
  • The company follows a progressive dividend policy (dividends will not be cut, maintaining or increasing payouts annually), has already approved a dividend increase from 8.0 yen per share this year to 8.5 yen per share next year.
  • Management notes that the new Japanese administration's policy focus on accelerating AI development and digital technology provides strong tailwinds for Asteria's business.

• Full-year fiscal 20XX revenue guidance is maintained at 3.5 billion yen, representing a 10% year-over-year growth target, with 46% mid-term progress considered on track given the upward trending nature of recurring revenue.
• Full-year operating profit guidance is maintained at 850 million yen, with 62% mid-term progress; guidance revision is currently under review, with no upward adjustment announced yet.
• Management forecasts the global stablecoin market will grow rapidly to 1.9 trillion USD to 4 trillion USD within 5 years, with 10% of this market expected to be yen-denominated (equal to 285 trillion yen to 600 trillion yen in market size), and expects the stablecoin connectivity business to exceed the size of its existing core products within 5 years if market growth meets forecasts.
• Management expects stablecoin adoption will drive a shift in software monetization from monthly/annual subscription to real-time usage-based micro-billing, opening up entirely new revenue opportunities that are not possible with traditional bank-based settlement.

Asteria operates six core software product segments, all focused on no-code and connectivity solutions: 1) ASTERIA Warp: A no-code data integration tool with over 10,000 client companies, achieves over 90% gross margin, and is sold 100% through partner agencies, expanding its user base to small and medium-sized enterprises. 2) Platio: A no-code mobile app development tool with adoption across multiple industries, enabling on-site DX, and has expanded into new use cases including the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. 3) Click (from acquired MikoSea): A no-code native app development tool with over 70,000 completed apps, targeting individual users, communities, and enterprise users requiring high screen design flexibility, and has launched the combined product Platio Canvas. 4) Handbook X: A one-stop digital information sharing and storage tool. 5) Gravio / AIoT Suite: A no-code platform for AI and IoT data connectivity. 6) Artefacts: A tool supporting robotic development verification. Financially, recurring (stock) revenue accounts for 77% of total revenue, overall gross margin is near 90%, and the current fiscal year full-year revenue target is 3.5 billion yen, with 46% progress achieved in the mid-term. The current full-year operating profit target is 850 million yen, with 62% progress achieved in the mid-term.

• No specific operational failures were discussed during the call. The only historical negative risk was fully resolved: the adverse impact from prior investments in US listed stocks has been eliminated after the full sale of the holdings.
• The yen stablecoin market is still in an early stage of development, with current JPYC circulation still low, so growth depends on broader market adoption of stablecoins by Japanese enterprises and consumers.
• Competition in the no-code market is increasing as the market expands, though management notes this also reflects growing mainstream acceptance of no-code technology.

Q: What is Asteria's core competitive advantage for the long term amid industry shifts to cloud and low-code/no-code? / A: Management states the two core competencies are the "connecting" mission and no-code technology. Unlike low-code, which still requires developer expertise, no-code enables any non-technical user to build systems, which is the company's enduring differentiator. The company will continue leveraging AI to expand accessibility of its products, while advancing its long-term goal of building an autonomous, distributed, collaborative digital society. (312 characters)

Q: How will stablecoin integration and the MikoSea acquisition impact the company's future growth scenario? / A: Management expects the stablecoin business to become a larger growth driver than the company's existing products, with revenue scaling proportionally with JPYC circulation volume via a usage-based pricing model. For M&A, the company will continue pursuing acquisitions to expand its no-code business footprint, aligned with its core growth strategy. (301 characters)

Q: Why has recurring (stock) revenue grown consistently, and is this trend sustainable? / A: Growth is driven by two factors: first, management has intentionally prioritized recurring revenue to achieve stable long-term growth. Second, broader industry trends of enterprise software shifting to cloud-based subscription models align with the company's product strategy, so this growth trend is expected to continue. (267 characters)

Q: Why do customers choose Asteria in the increasingly competitive no-code market? / A: For core data integration product ASTERIA Warp, the company holds the leading domestic market share, with an established ecosystem of system integrator and sales partners across Japan that provides strong customer confidence. The company also continuously expands pre-built no-code connectors for new systems, supported by third-party developer contributions to the connector ecosystem. (298 characters)

Q: How does the MikoSea acquisition expand product extensibility for Asteria? / A: Click's unique strength is its highly flexible screen design capability. It enables Asteria to build complete front-end interfaces for ASTERIA Warp and Gravio internally, without requiring customers to use external tools, closing a previous capability gap. This also enables new product combinations and extensions across the entire Asteria product portfolio. (261 characters)