INFORICH INC. Q2 FY2025 earnings call

• Core 2Q/1H Overall Performance

  • Consolidated revenue grew 30% YoY to 3.254 billion yen, and EBITDA grew 32% YoY to 778 million yen. 1H EBITDA and operating profit were only 100 million yen below the cumulative forecast, driven by intentional foundational improvements for future growth alongside temporary headwinds.
  • The period is characterized as "after rain the ground hardens": INFORICH completed user behavior analysis, adjusted strategies, and built a foundation for H2 growth.

• Global ChargeSPOT Expansion

  • Global installed units reached nearly 80,000 units, with 8,000+ new units installed in Japan in 1H. China is optimizing installation efficiency to maintain its role as an R&D hub, with unit counts decreasing as part of this optimization. Italy's launch is delayed to Q3 due to extended local regulatory compliance work, with the first unit already installed and multiple placement contracts signed.
  • Updated expansion plan targets 2-3 new city launches per year through 2028, with an average 700 million yen investment per city over 2 years to reach break-even, for a total planned investment of 4 billion to 6 billion yen through 2028, balanced against shareholder return expansion.

• Domestic Operational Improvements

  • Launched the vending machine integrated ChargeSPOT model, which enables placement in previously inaccessible high-traffic prime locations. As of June 2025, 161 units have been installed, with new strategic partnerships with major beverage players including DyDo Drinco and Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan.
  • Launched the in-house gig worker platform SPOTJOBS to improve battery redistribution (reducing geographic imbalance of available batteries), which addresses a key driver of low utilization. 2,000 workers had registered within the first month of launch.
  • Reversed the 2024 minimum price increase from 165 yen back to 165 yen in May 2025 after seeing gradual churn among teenage and young adult users after the 2024 hike. User recovery is already underway, with July recording an all-time high rental volume.

• New Business Development

  • CheerSPOT, the fan-centric artist advertising platform, has accelerated growth, with successful early learnings showing that fan engagement intensity (not just total fan count) is the key driver of performance. The service has already launched in Thailand and Taiwan alongside existing ChargeSPOT networks, with local partnership agreements already secured.
  • Cross-selling of ChargeSPOT is underway at mamaro baby care rooms via the newly consolidated Trim subsidiary.

• Safety Commitment

  • No ChargeSPOT-related battery accidents, fires, or juice jacking security incidents have ever occurred. All batteries meet country-specific safety standards (PSE in Japan, CE in Europe) and include IoT-enabled overcharge/over-discharge protection. Safety investment is positioned as a long-term growth driver, with ongoing user education on correct battery usage and disposal.

1. Domestic ChargeSPOT: 22% YoY revenue growth, 21% YoY EBITDA growth. No explicit absolute amount or revenue contribution percentage provided in the transcript. 2. Overseas ChargeSPOT: Solid YoY growth overall. Hong Kong saw YoY user growth despite QoQ impact from record-breaking bad weather (51 storm warnings issued in Q2). Taiwan's revenue growth reflects M&A integration benefits from the prior year. Australia achieved YoY revenue growth, with QoQ decline driven by reverse seasonal winter conditions and one-time costs from the ongoing Ezycharge to ChargeSPOT brand rebranding project. 3. Platform Business: Revenue increased significantly due to the consolidation of Trim, while related costs also rose. The business is seeing active growth investment in media operations, with successful team expansion and high-profile artist collaboration progress. Profitability improvement is expected to accompany sales growth in H2.

• Management maintains that full-year performance targets are achievable, with a well-established historical pattern of stronger sales and profit growth in H2, which is already baked into the original full-year guidance. The 1H 100 million yen EBITDA miss is expected to be fully recovered in H2.
  • Management is targeting full-year results that exceed the original guidance, leveraging the foundational strategic adjustments completed in 1H.
  • The core near-term priority is driving recovery in domestic rental volumes, with multiple user acquisition campaigns already launched including 30-minute free trials for new users, youth-focused U22 discounted pricing, and 10th anniversary promotional events planned for H2.
  • Platform business expansion is accelerated in H2, with a full sales team in place to grow corporate and individual advertising sales for CheerSPOT via strengthened agency partnerships.
  • Marketing will shift from just installation-driven user growth to targeted and mass advertising to build awareness among non-users.

• Adverse weather created material headwinds in 1H: heavy rain in March-May 2025 reduced weekend foot traffic in Japan, cutting domestic revenue by an estimated 100 million yen. Hong Kong also saw QoQ rental impact from record-breaking storm activity in Q2.
  • Prior 2024 price increases created gradual but material churn among price-sensitive young users, which required a quick strategic reversal to the original price point.
  • New global expansion requires upfront investment that near-term pressures profitability, with each new market taking approximately 2 years to reach break-even.
  • Battery safety risks are an industry-wide concern that could damage brand reputation if not proactively managed, even though INFORICH has not had any safety incidents to date.

Q: Do you have confirmed entry plans for the 6-9 new cities you outlined for expansion through 2028, how will expansion investment impact profit, and will growth investment come at the cost of near-term profit growth? / A: The company has identified priority candidate cities based on criteria like city size and GDP per capita, with preparations currently underway for Italy's upcoming launch. Like in existing markets such as Japan and Hong Kong, investment will come first in early stage expansion. The company's core goal is maximizing 2030 EBITDA, and it is prioritizing capturing expansion opportunities now. Japan will act as a cash cow to fund growth, while new markets are being built to become future cash cows. Management remains focused on accelerating global network building to enable upselling of additional services like CheerSPOT, and establishing winning operating models to speed up future expansion. Investment will be front-loaded, but the company is moving toward its long-term vision.\n\nQ: What changes occurred between Q1 and Q2, beyond the increase in installed units, and what changes followed the new user acquisition slowdown noted in Q1? / A: The main changes were completing the in-depth analysis of user behavior after the 2024 price hike, which led to the decision to reverse the minimum price back to 165 yen in May. The company also clarified the material impact of poor weather on Q1/Q2 rental performance, and completed foundational work including moving headquarters to improve internal communication, and hiring to strengthen global expansion and internal control. All these changes have set the foundation for H2 growth, and early results show user churn has reversed and rental volumes recovered to a new record in July.\n\nQ: What cost efficiencies will SPOTJOBS the in-house gig platform deliver for battery redistribution operations? / A: SPOTJOBS primarily improves operational resilience and responsiveness rather than just cutting costs. The previous third-party contracted model could not handle sudden spikes in redistribution need (for example during major events) quickly enough. Bringing this operation in-house via the gig platform allows more granular, timely redistribution, which directly increases rental volumes: event-focused redistribution has already been shown to double rentals in event areas. The company expects the platform to drive higher utilization that outweighs any operational costs.\n\nQ: What caused the Q2 domestic rental decline, and what recovery measures are you implementing? / A: The two main drivers were higher than normal rainfall in April and May that cut weekend foot traffic, and delayed impact from the 2024 minimum price increase that pushed younger users away. After reversing the price to 165 yen in May, rental volumes quickly recovered, with July hitting an all-time high. The company has added further recovery measures including 30-minute free trials for new users, a celebrity collaboration promotion, and the U22 discount program for price-sensitive young users, with more 10th anniversary promotions planned for H2.