3931.T

Overall Company Overview

• Value Golf is a group company structured around three core segments: Golf, Travel, and Other businesses. The core 1nin Yoyaku Land ASP service and newly added SES and DX promotion businesses performed solidly in the 2026 January Period.
• The company launched a new Real Estate business in the 2026 January Period, which aims to activate the golf industry by effectively utilizing idle land at golf courses to deliver planning proposals and services that stabilize golf course operations.
• The company's AI Utilization Laboratory is developing proprietary AI-powered services, which are on track to launch to the market in the 2027 January Period.

2026 January Period Profit Pressures

• Lower operating profit year-over-year was driven by multiple factors: the expected profit from the new Real Estate business was delayed to the 2027 January Period, the company made proactive upfront investments in AI development and aggressive advertising and promotion investments, and the company recorded 47 million yen in impairment losses on investment securities, leading to full year results coming in below the original earnings forecast.

2027 January Period Strategic Initiatives

• Golf Business Initiatives:
  • 1nin Yoyaku Land, which celebrated its 15th anniversary, grew membership 8% and total reservation volume 8.9% year-over-year even as overall golf course usage declined slightly due to persistently high green fees and extreme weather (heatwaves, heavy snowfall), reflecting growing market share for single-person golf bookings driven by the service's convenience for golfers.
  • The company continues to add new features to the golf course operation support service Ripi Masu-kun and Ripi Masu-kun DX, which aims to reduce operational burden for golf courses, enable labor-saving operations without reducing service quality, and support the company's positioning as a customer acquisition partner that grows alongside golf courses rather than just a referral business.
  • For Gippers golf equipment sales, the company will pursue private brand product expansion and AI-powered intelligent sourcing to improve profit margins, which have been pressured by rising procurement, logistics, and payment processing costs.
  • The company is developing new in-house AI solutions for the golf business, including demand forecasting services for golf courses and swing analysis services, and is advancing joint projects with multiple leading companies to create new customer experiences.
• Travel Business Initiatives:
  • Sankei Travel will capture inbound consumption demand from foreign visitors to Japan as a new core profit pillar, targeting growing demand for high-value-added Japanese experiences and growing demand for leisure and sports from wealthy consumers primarily based in Asia.
  • Esprit Golf will stabilize its profit base by revising its profit structure and diversifying its business portfolio to reduce over-reliance on the Masters viewing tour. It will continue to offer large-scale group tours while expanding the multi-faceted provision of unique, premium travel experiences that respond to diverse customer needs.
• New Business Initiatives:
  • The Real Estate business will move into a full profit generation stage in the 2027 January Period. In the prior period, the company completed the complex permit application and grid interconnection process for the storage battery facility development project in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, and gained proprietary high-level industry know-how that will be used to develop future services to solve golf course management challenges.
  • The AI Utilization Laboratory is researching innovative marketing approaches for the golf market. AI utilization testing is already underway in Ripi Masu-kun DX, with planned expansion to golf equipment sales. The company is advancing AI-driven software development to achieve major improvements in development speed, cost reduction, and quality improvement.
• Corporate Strategy Initiatives:
  • The company is entering its second founding era and advancing a strategic paradigm shift to secure sustained growth, pursuing maximum corporate value via the dual pillars of "reliable profit" and "unlimited potential".
  • The company plans to relocate its head office to Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku in summer 2026 to support future business expansion and maximize group synergy. This is a strategic investment in the company's greatest asset, its people: it will strengthen recruiting via improved central Tokyo access, improve communication by consolidating all group companies in one location, and accelerate progress into the next growth phase.

• For the 2027 January Period, management forecasts total consolidated revenue of 5.0 billion yen, operating profit of 220 million yen, ordinary profit of 190 million yen, and net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 110 million yen. The forecast expects full realization of the delayed Real Estate business profit and full-scale operation of upfront-invested new businesses.
• Management outlines four core strategic pillars to accelerate growth: 1) Full-scale profit generation of the Real Estate business, 2) Market launch of AI-enabled services, 3) Execution of the strategic head office relocation, 4) Expansion of the business domain via strategic M&A.

Consolidated total company revenue for the 2026 January Period was 4.426 billion yen, operating profit was 53 million yen, ordinary profit was 39 million yen, and the company recorded a net loss attributable to parent company shareholders of 19 million yen. All segments achieved year-over-year revenue growth:

1. Golf Segment: Revenue trended steadily, driven by consistent growth of the core 1nin Yoyaku Land ASP service and expanded sales channels for golf equipment sales (Gippers). Segment profit remained flat year-over-year. High-margin 1nin Yoyaku Land delivered stable profit after concentrated sales resource investment, but profit was offset by pressure from rising product procurement costs, increased sales costs (including mall fees), investment in new AI-enabled service development, investment in Ripi Masu-kun DX, and relocation costs for the Gippers Shimbashi store.
2. Travel Segment: Revenue grew significantly. Adding human resources to Esprit Golf allowed the company to leverage its existing relationships with overseas prestigious courses, leading to strong sales growth for its original high-end travel products. Popular annual products including the Masters viewing tour and the St Andrews Old Course playing tour sold out for the current year, with a large volume of bookings already received for future years. At Sankei Travel, the launch of a dedicated inbound tour website captured growing demand from increasing inbound visitor volumes, growing sales. Segment profit grew steadily amid record high inbound tourism demand (2025 inbound visitor volume hit an all-time high of 32 million, breaking the previous record by a large margin).
3. Other Businesses: This segment comprises Scrum Co., Ltd. (advertising media production) and Noah Co., Ltd. (AI-powered DX promotion). Revenue was stable, and segment profit increased sharply. Stable revenue was maintained at Scrum via strong relationships with large clients, while demand for Noah's AI development and DX promotion services has stayed persistently high. Noah's services have high synergy with all group businesses, contributing significantly to in-group AI development and operational efficiency improvement. While profit at Scrum decreased in the current period as its major client media completed a full shift to web-based operations, early profit recovery is expected via new client acquisition.

• Overall golf industry: Golf course user numbers have seen a slight decline due to persistently high play fees and extreme weather events including severe heatwaves and heavy snowfall, which creates pressure for golf segment revenue growth.
• Golf equipment sales: Procurement cost increases and rising logistics, payment processing, and platform sales fees have compressed profit margins for the Gippers golf equipment sales business.
• Esprit Golf over-reliance: Esprit Golf has become increasingly dependent on the popular Masters viewing tour, creating a need to diversify its business to stabilize its profit base.
• 2026 January Period results missed the original forecast due to unplanned 47 million yen in impairment losses on investment securities, in addition to the expected profit delay from the Real Estate business.

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