Japan Experts, Extraordinary Performance, Astris Advisory Japan

Astris Advisory Japan

Japan Experts, Extraordinary Performance

Our Corporate Advisory service is designed to give clients access to a wider range of investors. These include Japan specialists as well as global investors. The goal is to help achieve a fair equity valuation.

Equity Bottom-Up

Koukandekirukun, Inc. offers housing equipment sales and replacement services online. The Company provides water heaters, toilets, stoves, faucets, bathroom dryers, ventilation fans, and other products. Koukandekirukun provides its services throughout Japan.

<ul><li>Air conditioners hurt profitability – The company’s Q1-2 FY3/26 operating loss widened to -¥141mn from -¥25mn in the year-earlier period, amid resource allocation challenges related to air conditioner sales and weaker market fundamentals. Sales rose +14.8% YoY to ¥5.43bn.</li><li>Looking ahead, monthly B2C orders were back above +20% YoY in August and September, auguring well for its busy Q3 period.</li><li>The company left its full year forecast unchanged, which we think it can meet with a stronger H2. </li></ul>

Air conditioners hurt profitability – The company’s Q1-2 FY3/26 operating loss widened to -¥141mn from -¥25mn in the year-earlier period, amid resource allocation challenges related to air conditioner sales and weaker market fundamentals. Sales rose +14.8% YoY to ¥5.43bn.Looking ahead, monthly B2C orders were back above +20% YoY in August and September, auguring well for its busy Q3 period.The company left its full year forecast unchanged, which we think it can meet with a stronger H2. 

Koukandekirukun (7695 JP) - Operating Loss Widens but H2 Profit Expected

INTLOOP Inc. offers professional services. The Company provides business strategy, business reform consulting, project management supporting, professional human resources supporting, temporary staffing, and other services. INTLOOP also offers information technology consulting services.

<ul><li>Q1 FY7/26 results were positive with record-high quarterly sales and OP, illustrating management’s continued solid execution on multiple fronts: 1) margin enhancement by winning high-margin projects and improving the sales mix,</li><li>2) continued capacity expansion with new staff hires, and 3) bolt-on M&amp;A activity to increase the service offering in Infrastructure &amp; Telecommunications (such as data center construction), and growing its in-house freelance talent pool.</li><li>We believe management’s core growth strategy remains consistent and well-positioned to deliver sustainable growth, with a positive demand environment, high order visibility from large system integrators, and an increasingly proven execution track record.</li></ul>

Q1 FY7/26 results were positive with record-high quarterly sales and OP, illustrating management’s continued solid execution on multiple fronts: 1) margin enhancement by winning high-margin projects and improving the sales mix,2) continued capacity expansion with new staff hires, and 3) bolt-on M&amp;A activity to increase the service offering in Infrastructure &amp; Telecommunications (such as data center construction), and growing its in-house freelance talent pool.We believe management’s core growth strategy remains consistent and well-positioned to deliver sustainable growth, with a positive demand environment, high order visibility from large system integrators, and an increasingly proven execution track record.

Intloop (9556 Jp) - Solid Start to the Year

Restar Holdings Corporation / Equity Bottom-Up

Restar Holdings Corporation is a holding company which manages operations for its subsidiaries.  Group companies wholesale semiconductors, electronic components and equipment.  UKC Holdings also designs semiconductors and software through its subsidiaries.

<ul><li>After conducting a business reorganization and accelerating M&amp;A activity, Restar has embarked on a high-impact medium-term management plan.</li><li>This broadly involves 1) around half of ¥90bn capital allocation directed toward growth investments, with the remainder for working capital requirements in existing operations and post-merger integration (PMI) activities</li><li>2) establishing a new high-value-added Engineering business unit, with these efforts reflecting a clear focus on improving overall profitability. </li></ul>

After conducting a business reorganization and accelerating M&amp;A activity, Restar has embarked on a high-impact medium-term management plan.This broadly involves 1) around half of ¥90bn capital allocation directed toward growth investments, with the remainder for working capital requirements in existing operations and post-merger integration (PMI) activities2) establishing a new high-value-added Engineering business unit, with these efforts reflecting a clear focus on improving overall profitability. 

Restar (3156 JP) - Accelerating Growth Through M&A and High-Value-Added Services

MacbeePlanet,Inc. provides marketing data analysis services. The Company offers consumer inflow paths and behavior patterns data analysis, consumer behavior machine learning, and analytics consulting services. MacbeePlanet serves clients across Japan.

<ul><li>We believe the key read-across from Q1-2 FY4/26 results is that the company faces two key challenges: 1) changes in both business and marketing environments at major clients, given their relative concentration.</li><li>Key challenges include higher media costs in the lending and credit card sectors, reduced advertising spend in the investment sector, and shifts in competitive conditions and advertising pricing in the healthcare sector</li><li>2) a slower pace of new customer acquisitions compared to the initial plan, with the evolving industry environment and increasing complexity of customer marketing needs. In the near term, there is limited visibility into how earnings growth can be re-accelerated meaningfully in our view, despite initiatives in place to drive new businesses and develop verticals in retail and signage media.</li></ul>

We believe the key read-across from Q1-2 FY4/26 results is that the company faces two key challenges: 1) changes in both business and marketing environments at major clients, given their relative concentration.Key challenges include higher media costs in the lending and credit card sectors, reduced advertising spend in the investment sector, and shifts in competitive conditions and advertising pricing in the healthcare sector2) a slower pace of new customer acquisitions compared to the initial plan, with the evolving industry environment and increasing complexity of customer marketing needs. In the near term, there is limited visibility into how earnings growth can be re-accelerated meaningfully in our view, despite initiatives in place to drive new businesses and develop verticals in retail and signage media.

Macbee Planet (7095 JP) - A Year of Contraction, Followed by a Recovery

GSI Creos Corporation is a distributor of textile raw materials and women's and men's apparel.  The Company diversifies by non-textile products such as chemical products, industrial machinery, semiconductor and bio-related equipment.

<ul>
<li>Approaching its centenary year in 2031, GSI Creos is a business-creating trading company specializing in textile and industrial products.</li>
<li>By combining its expertise as a trading company with manufacturing capabilities and R&amp;D functions, GSI Creos creates value from concept to customer and utilizes its global network to drive geographic expansion.</li>
<li>The company is undergoing a business transformation, seeking to enhance returns through a higher value-added portfolio and conducting earnings-accretive M&amp;A, such as the key bolt-on acquisition of Soalon in FY3/25. </li>
</ul>


Approaching its centenary year in 2031, GSI Creos is a business-creating trading company specializing in textile and industrial products.
By combining its expertise as a trading company with manufacturing capabilities and R&amp;D functions, GSI Creos creates value from concept to customer and utilizes its global network to drive geographic expansion.
The company is undergoing a business transformation, seeking to enhance returns through a higher value-added portfolio and conducting earnings-accretive M&amp;A, such as the key bolt-on acquisition of Soalon in FY3/25. 


GSI Creos (8101 JP) - Weaving a Future of Sustainable Growth