Persol Holdings Stock

I am Wada from PERSOL Holdings. Thank you very much for joining us today at our first quarter earnings call. These are the contents for today. Starting from this time, we have added an executive summary at the beginning. In addition to the key points of our financial results, we would also like to explain our AI strategy based on the mid-term management plan, fiscal 2028, announced in May. Since AI is a key theme for us this fiscal year, we intend to provide you with a thorough update on our progress and our approach each quarter.

Let me start with the executive summary. In Q1, both revenue and profit increased year-on-year, marking a strong start. Revenue increased 13.5% year-on-year to JPY 424 billion. Adjusted EBITDA grew 21.6% year-on-year to JPY 26.4 billion. We are steadily making progress towards the mid-term management plan in the first year, although there are differences among SBUs.

Next, I will explain the AI strategy highlights. We truly believe that these changes in AI present an opportunity for growth. We believe that as AI advances, certain routine tasks will naturally become more efficient and market structures will undergo significant changes. In particular, routine tasks, especially those in administrative roles, may gradually decline over the medium to long term, and we fully acknowledge this reality and are committed to addressing it head-on. However, we do not view AI as a risk of market contraction. Rather, we see it as a major growth opportunity for us that will significantly accelerate workforce mobility.

We believe that the widespread adoption of AI will first lead to the optimization of workforce allocation within companies and the promotion of internal transfers. However, for roles that cannot be fully covered by these measures or for personnel transfers required for new businesses with specific skill sets, we believe they will inevitably lead to transfers across company boundaries. These trends are now inevitable, and we believe it is our role as an HR services company to support these individual moves and thereby underpin the significant mobility of the workforce.

Labor shortages are expected to reach around 3.84 million people in 2035. For companies, the key management challenges will be how to secure this limited talent pool, how to place them in the most suitable positions and how to boost their productivity. As a result, it goes without saying that job role transitions will increase, driving growing demand for talent redeployment among companies. We believe that not only the matching services we provide but also our support for creating new value and driving transformation will become increasingly important. In this environment, our strengths are that we possess one of the largest registries of talent data in Japan and that we have extensive customer base. Above all, we believe our strength lies in our ability to combine the human insights, our proprietary data and AI, all made possible by our long-standing track record in matching along with the background data we possess.

Another point is that in the AI and human resources business, we have incorporated Gojob, a French company with cutting-edge global technology, into our group, and we recognize that our ability to develop business initiatives leveraging its technologies and expertise is a major strength. It goes without saying that to truly make effective use of AI, it is essential to leverage track record, such as the vast amount of personnel data, corporate data, accurate data and matching data. We are confident that our strength, built on years of accumulating proprietary data and fostering relationships of trust with our customers, cannot be easily replicated.

We believe our competitive advantage lies in providing added value, not merely by supplying personnel, but by connecting the right people with the right jobs, thereby supporting corporate transformation. We are, of course, actively working to use AI to improve productivity in our own sales efforts, as well as in internal operations, matching and candidate management. By streamlining our own operations, we will further boost internal productivity and redeploy the personnel freed up by these efficiency gains to areas that generate higher added value, thereby driving business growth and improving profitability.

Another area where we intend to accelerate our efforts is the expansion into frontline worker domain, where AI substitution risk is low. We view markets such as construction, manufacturing, logistics and transportation, where structural labor shortages are expected to persist, as growth markets, and we intend to capture new market opportunities by applying Gojob's business model to address needs we have not been able to meet until now.

We are planning to make investments of JPY 19 billion cumulative over a 3-year period with the intention to improve productivity as well as lead to more value-add. As a result, our current estimates indicate that we expect to generate returns ranging from JPY 33 billion to JPY 43 billion. We invest these gains into further AI investments, talent investments and investments in new growth areas. Our financial foundation, which enables us to continue investing in AI, is one of our company's key strength in the AI era.

Our view on AI is that it is not something that will replace our operations but rather a source of our competitive advantage. By fully leveraging AI as a strategic tool, we intend to position it as one of our key growth drivers. We believe that identifying the new demand generated by AI and leveraging it to drive growth will become our key AI strategy moving forward.

To make this a reality, I believe that Gojob, the French AI-driven staffing company we acquired in October 2025, will play a crucial role. Since Gojob was built around AI from the beginning, its operation is almost fully automated from dialogue with candidates to identifying potential matches 24/7. Gojob is already achieving growth through the use of AI. We believe that by adapting this model for Japan and integrating it into our own business, we can accelerate the growth trajectory of the entire group. We believe that the most distinctive feature of Gojob is, above all, our frequent, proactive and ongoing communication with candidates, whether through social media, e-mail or apps like LINE in Japan, to build relationships and provide the right opportunities to the right people at the right time, precisely when they are most eager to accept them.

This allows for proposals based on the latest data, enabling decision-making with the updated data. What makes Gojob's model so exceptional is that while technology handles everything up to the matching and the flow of that process, people step in at stages where human involvement is truly necessary, the moments that require genuine follow-up to ensure strong engagement. We believe that by effectively integrating human and AI, we are able to offer models of exceptionally high quality that achieved significantly higher satisfaction and repeat rates compared to our competitors. And this is a crucial point.

We are currently performing POC of this model within the group staffing subsidiary in Japan. We are targeting inactive staff we have not been able to reach out to sufficiently until today, to activate them and to have AI-driven dialogue with them proactively to obtain their latest information, recent movements, changes in their mindset, so that it leads to job referral. We plan to verify this entire process, fine-tune it as we go and proceed with its rollout in Japan in stages. We intend to use this model as a key stepping stone toward accelerating matching, improving productivity and expanding into new domains.

We plan to continue keeping you all updated on this progress as well. Now CFO Kemmochi will provide a detailed explanation of the financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Kemmochi-san, please.

I am Kemmochi, CFO. I will explain the fiscal 2026 Q1 financial summary. Revenue and profits at all levels increased year-on-year. Revenue increased 13.5% year-on-year to JPY 424 billion. It was mainly driven by the JPY 12.2 billion contribution from Gojob, which we acquired last year, growth of existing businesses and foreign exchange with the appreciation of Australian dollar. Adjusted EBITDA increased 21.6% to JPY 26.4 billion due to margin improvements driven by efficiency improvement measures. We achieved increase in revenue and profit, driven by both of top line growth and profitability improvements.

As for progress against the full-year plan, revenue and profits at all levels outpaced the full-year forecast pace. This is the progress rate by SBU. In Staffing and Asia Pacific SBUs, progress rates are high, partly due to the effects of productivity improvement measures. On the other hand, with regard to BPO and Technology SBUs, given the nature of their businesses, profit generation tends to be concentrated in the second half. Therefore, we currently view progress as generally in line with expectations.

From here on, I will explain the financial summary by SBU. Today, I will focus on the Career SBU, Technology SBU and the Other segment, which includes Gojob, that we have identified as growth areas in the mid-term management plan announced in May. Performance in Staffing, BPO and Asia Pacific SBUs is progressing smoothly as planned. So, please refer to the following slides later.

Let me start with Career SBU. Revenue declined 1.7% year-on-year, and adjusted EBITDA declined 10.5% year-on-year. In Placement, selective hiring is continuing. And as explained in May, there is continued impact following the doda and doda X ID integration, but we believe that for the most part, the impact is currently as expected. The downward impact on revenue due to the ID integration is approximately a 6% decrease for the total SBU and approximately a 9% decrease for placement revenue, including the high-income segment.

On the other hand, HiPro, which is mainly side job and freelance business for professionals, maintained high growth, expanding steadily. At Career SBU, while there is impact of selective hiring trends, we anticipate market growth in the medium to long term due to increasing workforce mobility. Furthermore, demand for highly skilled talent remains strong even with selective hiring, and we are making steady progress in securing job openings.

Since the impact of the ID integration will subside in the first half of the year, we will focus on driving solid growth in the high-income segment in the second half by improving the conversion rate and strengthening our marketing efforts. We are also proceeding in stages with the implementation of AI models which are listed as key initiatives in our mid-term management plan. We will continue to improve both the customer experience and productivity while laying the groundwork for future growth.

Productivity of Placement improved by 2% year-on-year. We are optimizing the head count and saw a decrease by approximately 7% year-on-year. We will continue to improve productivity and allocate head count based on the demand trends. Next, I will move on to Technology SBU. Revenue increased 6.6% year-on-year, and adjusted EBITDA increased 42.8% year-on-year. While the IT/DX Solutions segment continued to perform strongly, the Engineering segment saw revenue growth of only 4.4% year-on-year, partly due to sluggish growth in outsourcing orders from automotive-related companies.

Profit was in line with our expectations, mainly due to the resolution of the impact from prior-year intra-group project delays. As part of our mid-term management plan to pursue a strategy of high growth and high profitability through outsourcing strengthening and increasing value-added services, we are also updating our KPIs starting this fiscal year. Number of engineers increased 8.4% year-on-year in Q1, and our talent base for sustained growth is steadily expanding.

As the number of engineers increased, so did the number of engineers on standby, awaiting assignment or undergoing training, which caused a decrease in sales per engineer. However, gross profit per engineer increased, driven by improved project profitability. We have been steadily increasing the number of engineers who form the foundation of our growth and are currently working to secure outsourcing contracts and assign engineers to them. Going forward, we will use indicators such as sales and GP per engineer, in addition to head count, to illustrate our strategies and progress regarding growth and profitability. We believe that the sources of the Technology SBU's competitive advantage lie in its recruitment strength and engineer development.

Persol Cross Technology, our group company was ranked seventh in the popularity rankings for science and engineering students graduating in 2027 among the distinguished list of companies. We will continue to invest in recruiting and talent development in the IT sector, which continues to be a growing market. Revenue of Other segment grew 87.7% year-on-year. The main contributing factor was Gojob, which we acquired last October. Gojob maintained high revenue growth of 50.9% year-on-year on a local currency basis.

Share expansion with existing customers and new customer acquisition were strong. In the next slide, I will explain why Gojob has been able to continue with such high growth and their competitive edge. Gojob's unique business model is what drives and supports its rapid growth. As explained by CEO Wada, there is a virtuous circle established.

As usage increases, data will accumulate, and matching accuracy and repeat rates improve. Furthermore, since its market share in France remains at around 2% only, we believe there is still significant room for growth in that market. In addition, through the launch of this model in Japan, we will work to improve productivity across the entire group and create new growth opportunities. We have the materials explaining our core SBUs of Staffing, BPO and Asia Pacific in the presentation deck. All are progressing smoothly as planned. Please refer to them later. This concludes my explanation. Thank you very much.

[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]

Hello. I am Taro Mineo, CSO. Thank you for your time today. I have been involved in the creation and growth of multiple businesses within the group. I am currently responsible for the group-wide management strategy and business portfolio.

Today, I will explain our group-wide approach to growth and our future focus area, frontline workers. First, here is the group's overall approach. We had redefined business portfolio toward 2030 and beyond based on market growth potential and competitive advantage in the AI era. As you can see, staffing BPO and Asia Pacific SBUs are domains to enhance stronger profit base while maintaining stable revenue growth. Career and technology are domains with sustained market growth and has high potential for upside through business model transformation. We will advance ahead with AI model implementation and shift toward higher value-added domains to drive a high-growth, high profitability business.

At the top of the slide on the right, we have R&D FU and Gojob, which are new domains with strong growth potential. Leveraging synergies between Gojob and domestic businesses, we are going to consolidate our focus domain on frontline worker. Broadly speaking, our core strategy is to hone our ability to generate profits from existing businesses and shift resources to areas that will grow in the AI era.

Next, I'd like to talk about frontline worker domain. Frontline work is where workers are in charge of on-site operation and have touch points with customers and users. These are domains such as manufacturing, logistics, construction, maintenance, food service and nursing care, where people create value in the front lines. There are 2 reasons why these markets are important. One is because of structural labor shortages. In addition to decline in working population, substitution by AI is difficult. Even by 2035, huge labor shortage is expected. The second is because we expect that there will be increasing workforce mobility from white-collar workers driven by AI. To accommodate this trend, we believe it's important as an infrastructure supporting career transitions and labor mobility will continue to grow.

What would be needed at such a time is a system that enables individuals to transition to their next job opportunity. From a company's perspective, it is necessary to establish a system for securing the workforce that encompasses not only hiring but also workforce planning, retention and development. Then how can Persol create value in this domain? Our strength lies in offering options for a wide variety of work styles cross-sectionally, such as temporary staffing, placement business and gig-type jobs. We are not going to offer them individually, but integrate them with AI and data to offer as a cross-sectional matching base. Through such efforts, benefits such as increase in income or long-term employment can be offered to individuals and benefits such as strengthened recruiting capabilities, talent retention can be enjoyed by the companies.

The key point is that this goes beyond simply securing a single candidate and finalizing their hire. It allows us to address both the company's workforce planning and the creation of career opportunities for individuals. We believe this is a domain that only we at Persol as a company that operates multiple services and holds a wealth of data can tackle.

Last of all, I would like to share our thoughts on AI, which supports this platform. The conventional recruitment services has primarily relied on a model that matches candidates and job openings based on registered information and job postings at a given point in time. But going forward, we will evolve the model to the one where individual data are acquired continuously and optimal recommendations will be made more frequently, continuously collecting individual data and updating their status constantly. This has been realized because of the use of AI. Based on this, algorithm will estimate aptitude, enabling high precision, speedy AI matching. As data accumulates and learns, we can continue to improve our proposals to the users. Through this cycle, we believe we will be able to drive user activation, improve LTV and create high added value. In the frontline worker market, Persol will create a platform to offer individuals opportunities to work and at the same time, to solve workforce issues at companies.

This concludes my presentation. Thank you.

I am Senoo from Career SBU. Thank you for your time today. Today, I will explain the growth strategy of Career SBU, starting with the market assumptions, transformation to an AI-driven placement business model and strengthening of high-income segment in the order. Today, I'd like to focus especially on how we can transition from a highly volatile business model to a structure that enables stable growth through the usage of AI and data. Speaking for myself, having long been involved in the job placement and technology domains, I view the current market environment not as a temporary phenomenon, but as an opportunity for a structural shift. I would like to explain the specifics today.

First, let me state the premise. Career SBU has 3 main businesses of placement, job recruitment media and side job and freelancer support. While placement accounts for about 60% of revenue, we are characterized by a multilayered structure in which we engage with customers through a combination of multiple services. Out of the placement business, high-income group whose annual income is JPY 6 million or higher account for 1/4. As such, we are shifting towards high value-add domain. I will explain later, but this structure itself is the foundation for the usage of AI and the growth of high-income segment growth.

Next is about market perception. In the short term, we expect companies to continue selective hiring and demand for high-income group to continue strongly. Over the mid- to long term, in addition to the declining working population and rising job mobility, there will be an increase in job transition and career support demand. While the use of AI will help streamline recruitment processes, decision-making support is expected to remain as an area that can only be materialized by humans. In this context, we believe that our company is well positioned to maintain and strengthen our competitive advantage even in the age of AI, thanks to doda's ability to attract individuals, its multilayered services and its proprietary data.

Let me go into the main part from here. We will implement an AI model in the placement business to shift to a high-growth, high profitability business structure. There are 2 points to realize this. First is to structure the matching process with human and proprietary data and AI. The second is to strengthen businesses in areas with high growth, namely the placement for the high-income group and side jobs freelancers. This is HiPro. Through such efforts, we aim to realize revenue growth of 7% to 10% year-on-year and adjusted EBITDA margin of 20% or more in fiscal 2028. We believe that this will mark a shift toward a model that simultaneously boosts both growth and profitability rather than simply improving efficiency.

Next is our approach on AI. From fiscal 2026 through fiscal 2027, we plan to move forward with the introduction of AI into the hiring process, and we aim to complete the implementation of AI across the entire process by fiscal 2028. We already have a proven track record of AI adoption and creation of job postings. I believe what is important is the segregation of roles. Having AI handle process-intensive tasks while humans focus on decision-making support. With this design, we aim to improve both the productivity and outcomes simultaneously.

Now the most important point here is we are not just using AI just to reduce costs, but believe it is an investment to grow revenue. To be concrete, 24/7 counseling will be possible with AI counseling, enabling outreach to previously underserved users. We, therefore, aim to increase counseling rate by 1.2x. Furthermore, in matching using proprietary data, we aim to increase the conversion rate by 1.3x. In other words, we intend to create a structure that increases both the total number of counseling users and the conversion rate.

Furthermore, by leveraging data that provides insights into factors such as user preferences and corporate culture, we will provide decision-making support that leads to highly satisfactory outcomes. As a result, we'd like to create a model that goes beyond mere efficiency improvements, but one that enhances both the number of users we can support and the quality of that support. This is just an illustrative example. Individual processes are shown here. From the perspective of job seekers, AI will handle tasks such as counseling, interview practice, scheduling and document creation. The key point is that AI will enable us to provide support to job seekers whom consultants have been unable to fully assist until now on a much broader basis.

Furthermore, we aim to achieve both efficiency and added value by having human support the final decision-making process. Next, I'd like to talk about high-income segment. We have achieved high revenue growth in the past 3 years in the high-income group. Going forward, we intend to evolve this into a replicable growth model by combining the integration of multilayered services, strengthening our consulting capabilities and implementing brand strategies. In other words, I believe we are now in a phase where we are not just riding the wave of a growing market, but are actively working to develop a winning strategy. High-income segment is not just job placement only, but includes HiPro's side jobs and freelancer support.

We aim to grow our market share through the growth of both of these businesses. We aim to achieve continuous growth. Looking at the figures, in fiscal 2028, which is during the current midterm management plan, we aim to achieve CAGR of 10% or more in high-income segment and CAGR of 20% or more in the side jobs and freelancers support, the HiPro segment. As a concrete way to grow the high-income segment in placement business, we aim to bolster the 360-degree recruitment consultant organization and strengthen the strategies of the 2 brands, doda and doda X further. Until now, doda has primarily focused on job seekers with annual incomes ranging from JPY 4 million to JPY 6 million. But going forward, we plan to expand our services to those earning JPY 6 million to JPY 8 million. Additionally, we intend to strengthen our services on doda X for those earning JPY 8 million or more.

This is not simply a matter of strengthening our sales efforts. It means redesigning our business model to better suit high-income segment. Through this, we will enhance the sustainability of our growth. To summarize, we will transform our revenue structure to evolve our placement business model by using AI and drive growth in the high-income segment. This is a major strategy of Career SBU.

Thank you for your attention.

Hello, everyone. I am Masaki from Technology SBU. Thank you very much for taking your time out of your busy schedule. Now I'd like to start my presentation. This is the first page. Let us, first of all, introduce our SBU. We have diverse service models and industry as shown on the left. At the bottom left of the right side, we have businesses from a wide range of companies brought together like Nissan Diesel Technical Research Institute, a company with diesel engineer specialists and Persol AVC Technology, formerly engineers of Panasonic Consumer Appliances. Furthermore, members from various SBUs within the Persol Group who developed systems came together. And when members from the temporary staffing business joined, our technology SBU was established. And the business is run by management from various backgrounds, such from major manufacturers, consulting firms, Major SIers and others as described on the right bottom of the slide.

And currently, we are divided into 3 subsegments of IT/DX solutions, engineering and registered temporary staffing/freelancers. We have our mission described, create better working opportunities for engineers. And the other mission is to improve productivity for individuals and organization, which we have been upholding since 2020. We are operating our business with these 2 missions. Let me share some case studies. This is a photo of engineering on the left. This is Oki Islands with autonomous driving bus. There are many autonomous driving buses everywhere in the world, but this one is the first in the world in autonomous driving between islands and getting on and off the vessels by bus. We are conducting on-site verification in Japan, and it is successful. On the right are photos related to AI initiatives. At the left top is a tractor we bought of a certain manufacturer. We removed the engine and made it into an EV. Furthermore, we made the front styling based on the design by generative AI.

We were able to realize this in a little over a year. We brought this to a trade show the other day and received many inquiries. We are currently receiving many requests for retrofit such as converting the existing engine or diesel engine cars, trucks and others to autonomous driving or electrified vehicles. Please take a look at the photo in the middle left. This is physical AI, which is in trend now. We are in the business of helping robots eliminate error rates through the use of AI and cameras. The very bottom is related to ChatGPT. When ChatGPT for groups was released, we were able to start using it right away. So our team implemented it. so that all employees in the group could use it. Now to make it happen, what do we want to achieve? As described in the middle, while maintaining revenue CAGR of 10%, we call it 10x10 or 10x12 internally, but aim to achieve 10% adjusted EBITDA margin in 2028. And in fiscal 2030, achieved 12%. These are the metrics we use internally.

For nonfinancial indicators, as we have moved from deflationary times to inflationary times, we have committed internally to increase pay to employees by inflation rate plus 1%. I'd like to once again inform you of our SBU's history and the future. Under our previous midterm management plan, from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2025, we achieved 10% growth by steadily advancing our growth initiatives in line with the plan. From fiscal 2026 to 2028 and beyond to fiscal 2030, we will commit to achieving adjusted EBITDA margin of 10% and then increase it to 12% by fiscal 2030 as described on the right. How are we going to achieve that? But before that, let me talk about our market view. Let me start with supply and demand tightness. Against the backdrop of growing needs for AX, DX and productivity improvements, we are receiving many inquiries due to shortage of labor.

The second is about qualitative change. We have come to the conclusion that simply providing personnel and engineers is no longer enough. So we've been emphasizing the need to arm ourselves with AI within our SBU. From the stage of being able to use AI, we aim to be able to make full use of AI. And ultimately, we want to be able to become experts for increased scarcity, AI and physical is written. This is different from physical AI. It means utilizing AI to be close to customers, working alongside them to enter into the front line. For example, we are being praised about company uniforms. Increasing scarcity of the value can be created if we can enter into our customers' factory, wearing their company uniform, working together with them. Let me explain the impact of AI based on our perception of the market. You may know much more than I do, given that this is set to have an impact on the scale of the industrial revolution, we've been quite surprised ever since the cloud code was introduced. Where is the value shifting?

We believe value will shift towards both end of the smile curve. In such an environment, what is our strength? As I mentioned earlier, technology SBU is made of 12 companies combined together. It is precisely this power of transformation, cherishing each person's past and history while evolving toward the future. This is exactly what the members gathered here today have achieved. What is written here are examples of engineers who used to handle design and development. Now transitioning to roles where they leverage AI to establish basic designs and set policy. While engineers who used to handle maintenance and support are now moving into on-site, helping on-site staff advance their implementation skills, et cetera. Engineers work alongside on-site workers and our workforce continues to evolve in a flexible manner, learning from them. I believe this ability to adapt and transform is crucial in the age of AI.

Now regarding our competitive advantage, I might sound like I'm bragging, but please take a look at the left side. In January, we were selected by Oricon and awarded the #1 in customer satisfaction among human resource agencies. Please take a look at the left bottom next to attracting talents. We are now able to hire as many engineers with science background as we want. We were featured in Nikkei Newspaper in May. We were chosen as #1 in IT and engineering category. We were also ranked #10 overall in [Foreign Language]. Furthermore, we are developing talents. We established a company together with Serverworks to do temporary staffing of AWS. 80 of our engineers and more than 90% of our staff have already earned the SA professional certification, which is the highest level of qualification available, and we are currently leveraging this expertise to provide close support to our clients.

As for retention of talents, our turnover rate has been below 10% in the past 3 years. We'd like to contribute more to our customers by improving their productivity, leveraging our strength to attract talents, develop talents and retain talents. On the right side of competitive advantages, we have a photo of SkyDrive's air mobility. Maybe you have seen this at the Expo held in Osaka. Our engineer has been working under President Fukuzawa for the past 5 years for the wings. On the right, we have autonomous delivery robots. It is delivering lunch boxes. We manufactured, implemented these robots in Koka City in Shiga Prefecture and the PoC was successful recently.

Left bottom is a request from Hokkaido Airport. We take pride that we are the only one designing snowplows in Japan nowadays. We recently received a request to implement autonomous driving capabilities in response to an aging population. We conducted our own experiments, and we successfully achieved retrofit autonomous driving, which was even featured in the news. On the right, let us introduced 2 products on PABCT. This is called AI Kura Lab. To make Japanese sake, master brewers are seasonal workers and is a challenging job. Therefore, there is a decrease in number of master brewers. To address this issue, we developed a way that enables anyone to perform the process. We attached camera and sensors to the tank so that it can be viewed on smartphone. And when mold is bubbling, you know you should stir. On the right, we have Mizomiru-kun. We received good design award. I would like to explain more about it. So if anyone is interested, please make an appointment.

Moving on to strategies for growth toward 2030. I'd like to mention 2 points about further shift toward a solution drive business, which I had been talking about from the previous midterm management plan. This is about transforming our capabilities, transforming our talents and also to transform the market. We've become engineers who can fully harness the power of AI. And as AI-equipped engineers, we are now capable of taking on roles such as PMO or consultants. With the market expanding, we hope to secure opportunities in sectors like defense and aerospace as well.

As for how we will achieve our goals, I mentioned 10x10 and 10x12 earlier. This page explains how we will make that happen. One is to expand our sales volume, and we intend to maintain a growth rate of 10% or more. Second, we have already planned to increase our gross profit margin by about 3 percentage points going forward. Third, we plan to further reduce our SG&A ratio by 3 percentage points. This will allow us to achieve our 10x10 goal. And while we are now aiming for 10x12, I hope that by fiscal 2030, we will be able to merge with or partner with another company and continue to grow together. That is what I am thinking.

This is the last page. Let me reiterate, make it happen. Our goals are 10x10 by fiscal 2028, and 10x12 by fiscal 2030. This concludes my presentation of Technology SBU. Thank you for your attention.

I am Ichimura from BPO SBU. Thank you for your time today. I would like to take you through our SBU strategy and initiatives we are taking. This is the basic information about BPO SBU, including sales composition and others. About 60% of the total is BPO business, which is operations. In this field, while we support our clients' core business operations, there are also many domains where we handle corporate and indirect department functions. In addition, domains such as PMO and BPR have been growing significantly in recent years, and these domains are currently experiencing a boom as new initiatives. We also have CX business, which is mainly communication domain. We are offering sales and marketing, customer support, technical support and others. The last one is professional business, where we provide consulting service. At a high level, we are offering HR consulting and technology consulting.

These are the businesses we have and the breakdown is as shown. On this slide, we have summarized our market view and competitive advantages. Against the backdrop of clear labor shortages, the demand for BPO has continued to increase substantially. Rather than simply adding more staff, we believe that if we sustainably manage these operations while reviewing the work processes themselves, this kind of demand will continue to grow. In addition, the impact of AI is an issue that we must seriously address. We expect demand for routine and simple tasks to partially decline as they are replaced with AI. However, we believe demand will continue to expand in areas such as business design, improvement and reform. This is where we'd like to capture the market. I've included a diagram showing how we approach AI within our business process.

Vertically, we have the scope of services, including BPO business, CX business and professional business that I had talked about earlier. Horizontally, we have business processes for customers to proceed with various topics or to promote their businesses. The starting point would be framework and policy design. Once they are solidified, business design, development and enhancement stage will follow. As the operation starts, the processes start to run, and we are able to leverage the capabilities of each business at every phase. In that context, regarding the role and impact of AI, I believe that routine operational tasks will undergo significant changes as AI increasingly takes over the work currently performed by humans.

On the other hand, in other processes, leveraging AI will lead to improvements in productivity, quality and others. Therefore, we view the shift toward AI as an opportunity rather than a threat, and we intend to take on the challenge proactively and boldly. This is a summary of things to be achieved under the midterm management plan. The biggest point is to achieve adjusted EBITDA margin of 8% in fiscal 2028. Our goal is to further enhance our current earnings power and achieve both improved profitability and increased productivity. As for the initiatives we're taking to achieve this, which I'll touch on briefly later, the key points will be how to integrate AI into our current operations or how to create operations that are driven by AI. Of course, developing the talent who support that effort is something we cannot avoid. In fact, it is an area we should actively focus on.

First, implementation of AI-driven operations. We thoroughly understand our customers' operations and manage them accordingly. Furthermore, the fact that new operations are constantly being created even at this very moment and that we have a wealth of use cases is one of our strengths. We will, therefore, move quickly to implement an update that further integrates AI in this area, demonstrate the track record of AI utilization in internal operations before rolling out solutions to customers. Our company also has corporate and indirect support functions, and we have been working since last fiscal year to figure out how to redesign these processes to incorporate AI. Since this initiative is directly linked to our support for the corporate functions of the clients we serve in the market, we intend to move forward aggressively with launching this service while thoroughly addressing success stories, lessons learned and risk management.

Next is about automation of operational processes. Just as an example, we are sharing automation of marketing process. Embedding AI, including automation tools, will enable significant labor saving or leading to final conclusions without involving humans. We have already announced such a service to the public under the name zero-operations, and we have been receiving many inquiries about it. There is another use case. It is listening AI agent. This solution is used in various settings such as contact centers, service departments and support desks. While there are already a wide variety of voice AI-powered response systems available on the market, we are conducting research and compiling case studies on how to use these systems to identify the root cause of an issue by posing the right questions from our end based on how the inquiry is handled.

We have already implemented many for our customers, and we are currently working on them, including some refinements. While this is just one example of how AI is being utilized, we intend to continue developing more of such applications in the future.

Next, I believe we will need to transform or rather update the talent that will take on this role. First, while we take a level-headed view that many routine tasks are likely to be replaced by AI, we believe that the value of our BPO services will shift from simply streamlining these operations to areas such as design, improvement and further advancement.

This slide shows our characteristics and strength. I'd like to emphasize our process design capability, especially. We already have many processes that we own. The key for the BPO development in the future is to update them into AI version. We already have a few thousand employees who have the capability of process design. We intend to take action fully during the current midterm management plan to further expand this area in the future through education. We are now proactively promoting acquisition of AI utilization skills to our employees and staff.

What sets us apart is that while there are countless opportunities to learn through classroom lessons, we focus on immediately applying that knowledge in practice. We believe we can effectively enhance the speed at which we update our employee skills and improve the quality as well. We have a track record of having a few thousand headcounts attending such curriculum updating their skills. We intend to accelerate this process to raise their capabilities to increase the value of business. I apologize for rather lengthy explanation, but that concludes my presentation on the BPO SBU. Thank you for your attention.

Hello. I am Kimura from Staffing SBU. Now I will start with the strategies of the Staffing SBU. First, let me introduce Staffing SBU. On the left, we have breakdown of revenue by job type. Clerical work accounts for 86% as a main job type. The pie chart in the middle shows the breakdown of revenue by company size. Majority exceeding 65% are SMEs and mid-tier enterprises. The pie chart on the right shows the breakdown of revenue by industry. As you can see, we have secured a sales channel spanning a wide range of industries.

Let us share our view of the market. The first point is that with advances in technology, there is growing demand for clerical staff with strong digital skills. Second, the ability to enhance added value through continuous engagement-driven staff development and the design of job roles determines competitiveness. Third, in fields where it is difficult to attract enough workers, including those responsible for social infrastructure, such as construction and other physical work, labor shortages have become increasingly serious. In response to these changes in the market environment, we will further sharpen our competitive edge by leveraging Tempstaff's strong brand power, a wealth of business resources and our ongoing value proposition to both individual and corporate customers.

It is said that advances in technology are changing the way we work and leading to changes in job types. The clerical work, which is our core area of business, is expected to be significantly affected. The temporary staffing market for clerical work is currently worth JPY 2.3 trillion. While it is projected to grow slightly until 2030, contraction by 10% is expected by 2035 due to technological advancements. On the other hand, the total number of workers in Japan is approximately 69 million. Of these, approximately 2.2% are temporary workers. When we look at the Japanese labor market as a whole, we believe there is still much more that we at the staffing SBU can do to support job seekers, staff and companies.

We need to address this as a leading company in the market. We aim to identify social issues, drive changes in the way people work and grow our business. We will leverage our strength and drive business transformation through the use of technology. Specifically, we will focus on 2 areas: expanding our market share and improving profitability. We will explain this in more details starting on the next page. For many years, we have been promoting our business, primarily targeting women in clerical work. Looking ahead to a future where administrative work will increasingly be replaced by AI, we must effectively leverage the strength we currently possess and embrace new challenges and transform to explore a wide range of possibilities.

The diagram on the left illustrates the points of contact between staff and clients. By optimally matching human and digital elements, we aim to maximize lifetime value and drive the evolution of our business. And as shown in the diagram on the right, we will expand the services we offer, both vertically and horizontally to broaden our areas of growth. The first is highly skilled human resources. We aim to increase hourly wages by providing digital skills trainings to various industries that require specialized knowledge and technical expertise and by placing the trained personnel in those roles, we will also expand our services to the construction and light work sectors where there is a significant supply-demand gap and strong demand for workers is anticipated.

Last December, Aoyama Geijutsu, a company specializing in introducing designers, joined our group in collaboration with the CAD operator and design support services provided by Persol Tempstaff. We have also begun dispatching teams that include personnel for upstream processes. By offering a wide variety of employment opportunities, we aim to expand our market share. Our core company, Persol Tempstaff, has been dedicated to supporting our staff for over 50 years. Our annual staff survey highlights our strength, such as our ability to look beyond superficial issues and truly understand the context, the trusting relationships that help staff move forward when they face uncertainty or difficulties and their capacity to deeply understand others and communicate effectively with them.

Our actions standing by our staff and continuing to do so have built trust over time, transforming isolated moments into a continuous relationship. This is precisely the value that comes from human involvement. To further enhance this strength, we will continue to advance the digitalization of our internal operations. We are working to transform our business company-wide and improve our processes through the use of AI, with the goal of maximizing the value we deliver through human and digital technologies and improving profitability. In fiscal 2028, we aim to achieve an adjusted EBITDA margin of just over 6%. I will explain our specific strategies in the following slides.

Let me explain the first strategy. While staffing services are generally viewed as simply matching job openings with job seekers, we place a high priority on continuity by supporting each staff member's work style and career path while developing the talent needed for our clients' businesses, we aim to foster the ongoing growth of both our staff and the companies they work for. Through optimal matching that combines individual strength with digital technology, we aim to create opportunities where staff can apply their work experience to their next job and continue to grow. For example, if a candidate wants to develop their skills in an accounting role, we will have them gain work experience through an accounting position that accepts candidates with no prior experience. Then for the next assignment, we will introduce them to an accounting position that requires experience. This approach enables our staff to grow and earn higher wages while also helping us provide clients with the talent they need.

To achieve this, we need to accumulate data from our interactions with staff, such as the practical experience they've gained at their assignments and their current career aspirations and incorporate them into our matching algorithm. The power of AI and digital technology is indispensable in this regard. And I believe it's important not to stop at simply matching data, but to have human involvement to provide strong motivation and deliver that final mile. Next is the second strategy. While our services have primarily focused on temporary staffing, we believe our true goal is to solve our clients' problems. When solving problems based on customer touch point data, we identify our clients' deeper challenges by leveraging the continuous touch point information such as sales activities, order details and information on staff currently on assignment that is unique to our staffing services.

We then deliver new value by offering innovative services designed to address those challenges. For example, improving productivity is a human resources challenge that every client faces. To achieve productivity improvements, there is one major hurdle to overcome, the challenge of digital implementation. We believe we can help our clients improve their productivity by going beyond simply providing labor as has been the case in the past. Instead, we propose solutions based on all the information accumulated through ongoing interactions from reevaluating the design of our clients' business operations and job roles to staff deployment and training. Furthermore, our work does not end with the proposal. We provide ongoing support to ensure operations run smoothly afterwards. It is through these efforts that we believe we can help our clients achieve greater productivity.

Next is the third strategy. We place great importance on providing our staff with ongoing employment opportunities and supporting our clients' continued business operations. As we have mentioned in our previous strategies, we anticipate that demand for clerical staff with higher digital skills than currently available will grow in the clerical sector, which is our core business currently. Therefore, we aim to develop and deploy personnel with digital skills. Furthermore, we believe that even as AI and digitalization continue to advance, there will still be industries and job types that require human workers. By developing and expanding labor markets where the supply of workers is a challenge, we aim to bridge the hourly wage gap in the labor market. For example, in the construction industry, while construction investment is expanding, driven in part by the need to address aging infrastructure, the shortage of workers is becoming increasingly severe.

We believe that by combining our long established capacity to supply talent with the design platform of Aoyama Geijutsu, which joined our group last year, we will be able to provide services that cover the full spectrum of architectural design processes from design to the construction site. Furthermore, sectors such as manufacturing and transportation employ a large number of temporary workers. While we anticipate a decline in these numbers due to advances in automation and robotics, we believe that labor shortages will persist. In addition to the broad coverage provided by Persol Tempstaff, we believe that strengthening our existing businesses such as Persol Factory Partners, which focuses on manufacturing positions and Persol field staff, which focuses on light industrial work will enable us to contribute to the creation of even more employment opportunities.

The diagram on the left illustrates strategies 1 through 3, which we have discussed so far. We will enhance our existing business model and take a more active role in solving customer challenges. We will also continue to expand into the construction, manufacturing and light industrial sectors where strong demand is anticipated. Through these initiatives, we will not only increase the number of active staff and raise our average billing rate, but also reduce SG&A expenses through the digital transformation of our company. At the staffing SBU, our value proposition is provide working people with possibilities, insight and options, achieving 'Work, and Smile' through ongoing engagement. Our key focus is to create the greatest possible employment opportunities going beyond simply providing temporary staffing services. We aim to become a company that job seekers, staff and corporate clients all consider their go-to choice whenever they need assistance.

In other words, to turn them into our loyal supporters. The Staffing SBU is positioned as a core business within the Persol Group. We will continue to maintain steady growth while strengthening our earnings base through productivity improvements.

This concludes the explanation of strategy of Staffing SBU. Thank you.

Hello. Thank you for joining us at IR Day 2026. I am Tsuge, Executive Officer, CIO and CAIO. It is a pleasure to meet you. Although we have limited time today, I'd like to share my thoughts on these 3 points. The first is an overview of the new technology strategy. While the group has announced its new midterm management plan, we are also formulating a strategy for this midterm plan as part of our new technology strategy. I have summarized everything on this single slide, and I hope to use it to explain the big picture. First, as part of our new technology strategy, we have set the goal of shifting to AI-first business model. Toward an era of new work where AI and humans collaborate, our company is committed to promoting the use of AI. At the same time, we aim to create a world where each person can enjoy freedom and expanded potential, a world full of personal authenticity.

With this in mind, we are striving to shift to AI-first business model that can make this a reality, and we have set this as our goal. Now regarding the key themes for achieving this, we have identified 3 points. The first is AI and business. Please note that business here refers to operations. While there are various operations within each SBU and across the group, our top priority is to use AI to thoroughly shift them into AI-first business models suited to the AI era.

Second, since we must simultaneously adapt the work styles of Persol Group employees to the AI era, we have established the concept of AI and work, where work refers to the update of Persol Group employees' work styles for the AI era. Finally, regarding AI and data, I believe that data plays a significant role in determining AI's competitive advantage and competitiveness. Since the Persol Group as a whole possesses a vast amount of data, we intend to make full use of it to leverage the power of AI. With these 3 key themes, business work and data as their focus, we aim to shift to AI-first business model. As for the basis for implementation that underpins these principles, I have summarized the three points outlined here. I have often wondered whether the theme of this basis for implementation, which has existed through the IT era, the DX era and the upcoming AI era has been present since the IT era itself.

However, I believe that the nature of this foundation in the IT era, the DX era and the upcoming AI era is fundamentally different. And I would like to update this foundation to suit the AI era. Infrastructure, security, global collaboration, governance and people and organizations. I believe AI is relevant to all of these key areas. So I intend to rebuild the foundation for implementation to suit the AI era. Due to time constraints, I can only cover this much of the big picture today, but we have formulated detailed plans for each of these 6 areas, which combine key themes and foundations for implementation. So I hope to share those with you when we have the opportunity.

Second, I'd like to talk about the group's overall priorities for AI investment. I believe each SBU shared its strategy earlier. And among those, the SBUs will certainly be stepping up their AI investments. While each SBU will make its own investments, it is also important to determine how to allocate resources across the entire group, prioritizing some areas over others in order to maximize results for the group as a whole. Therefore, as we formulate our midterm management plan, we are also considering the group-wide priorities. Here on the left, you will find a brief summary of each SBU's AI policy. We have plotted these on a graph with impact on the vertical axis and time line on the horizontal axis.

First, we have designated initiatives with a short time line and high impact as our top priority quadrant, #1. Next, in area #2, we have categorized initiatives with a slightly longer time line, but high impact as our challenge quadrant. Third, we have designated initiatives with a near-term implementation time line that can deliver quick win as a quadrant, which is #3. We have mapped each initiative in this manner. Here are the results. What is shown here represents only a very small fraction of the total. Additionally, the colors indicate each SBU and each SBU is planning various initiatives within its respective quadrants. After completing this mapping, our priority strategy is to first focus on our investments on quadrants 1, 2 and 3 within staffing and career, which are our concentrated investment and aggressive investment areas.

Furthermore, for BPO, technology and Asia Pacific, we have decided to focus our investments primarily on quadrant #1. Through this approach, we have designed the overall strategy so that not only each SBU, but the entire group can carefully consider how to maximize the impact of our limited AI investment budget. As for the results, during the period covered by the current midterm management plan, based on cumulative figures from the income statement, we estimate that for an AI investment of approximately JPY 19 billion, the effect will be about 1.8x the investment under the base case scenario and about 2.3x the investment in a best case scenario with an upside. Please note that these figures are based on a limited period within this midterm management plan. Naturally, for initiatives launched in the latter half, such as those introduced in the second or third year, the point at which full results become apparent may come later than what is shown here.

On the other hand, the initiatives we were able to implement during current midterm management plan period will accumulate effects year after year, continue to yield results even beyond the planned time frame. Therefore, I would like you to view these figures strictly as a benchmark for investment and results specific to current midterm management plan period. I think it might be a little hard to visualize based on this alone. So to give you a clearer picture using some numbers, which you'll see on the right, while these are cumulative figures, we've calculated an improvement in adjusted labor productivity of approximately 15% to 24%, a reduced working hours as stated.

And finally, an impact on adjusted EBITDA of roughly this magnitude. Since these figures are already factored into the targets announced in our current midterm management plan, we intend to leverage AI to ensure we achieve the goals set for the plan period, thereby further strengthening the likelihood of meeting the targets we have declared in the plan. This was a discussion about the group-wide priorities for AI investment.

Finally, to elaborate a bit on whether the various initiatives I have discussed in the first and the second points can actually be implemented. I'd like to briefly touch on the execution structure that supports our AI strategy. First, the first point is strengthening human resource and organizational capabilities, which is on the left. It states that we have over 2,000 technology-oriented human resources within the group. Thanks to our efforts to recruit and develop technology talent during the previous midterm management plan period, we currently have over 2,000 technology-oriented human resources on our team. Please note that this figure of 2,000 excludes engineers who are performing engineering work at client sites. It specifically refers to technology talents working directly for the Persol Group. 2,000 employees includes AI and data talents as well as many technology talents who have developed a deep understanding of HR and therefore, understand the business.

And since we established various in-house development structure during the previous midterm management plan period, we are well positioned now to successfully develop our products in-house. We intend to leverage the capabilities of these 2,000 employees to significantly accelerate our initiatives in the coming AI era. Second, in April 2026, we established a new division under my leadership at the holding company called the Group AI Division. We have centralized AI and data talent in this division, and we have launched it with many employees involved in AI now assigned to this division. To prevent duplicate AI investments across each SBU and to generate synergies that would further accelerate these initiatives across the entire group, we established a central organization to handle major projects. By centralizing the group's AI talent in this way, we aim to ensure that our AI and data initiatives are carried out thoroughly, efficiently and effectively. We will continue to collaborate closely with each SBU.

We aim to lead the group-wide efforts in sharing know-how across SBUs and establish common environments and infrastructure. Finally, there is one more point I'd like to make. Regarding the acquisition of global advanced AI technology, let me touch on Gojob. Gojob is a temporary staffing SaaS platform that operates in Europe and the States. Historically, the temporary staffing industry, including in Japan, has been built by a wide range of people. Gojob is a company that operates a platform designed to replace human labor with AI and technology as much as possible, thereby further enhancing the value of the temporary staffing business.

From my perspective, I can see that this initiative, including the AI agents and the platforms features has evolved significantly, and I feel it is more advanced than its Japanese counterparts. Therefore, I intend to ensure that we fully incorporate these capabilities and expertise into our group. First, we would like to explore ways to create synergies with our group domestic temporary staffing business. As you know, our domestic temporary staffing business is a very large business. So even a small integration of these products can have a significant impact.

Looking ahead to the coming AI era, we intend to fully leverage Gojob's expertise and products to continuously update our domestic temporary staffing business model so that it is well suited for this new era. The second point is our expansion into new frontline worker domain, which we also announced in the current midterm management plan. We have confirmed that Gojob's features are highly compatible with this initiative as well. So we intend to leverage Gojob's capabilities to ensure steady growth and accelerate new expansion into these new services. Therefore, by acquiring these global advanced AI technologies, we aim to firmly accelerate the adoption of AI across the entire group moving forward.

This is the final slide. As we enter an era of a new way of working where AI and humans collaborate, our group is firmly committed to promoting the use of AI. At the same time, we aim to create a world which expands individual freedom and potential toward a world where individuality thrives. We intend to build AI-driven businesses that are fully aligned with this vision. Although today's session was brief, I provided an overview of our AI technology strategy and added a few points regarding the group's overall technology strategy.

Thank you for your attention. I ask for your continued support.

[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]

This is Wada from PERSOL Holdings. Thank you very much for joining us today. As we have announced, our CFO, Tokunaga, will step down at the end of his term in late June and Kemmochi, the Executive Manager of Group Finance Division sitting next to me, is scheduled to take over as CFO starting in July.

Today, Mr. Kemmochi and I will be presenting an overview of our financial results and the outline of our new Mid-term Management Plan. Let me start with the highlights. There are 3 highlights: the results of fiscal 2025, the plans for fiscal 2026 and the dividend.

We achieved record highs in revenue and all stages of profits with all SBUs achieving revenue growth. Adjusted EBITDA rose 12.6% Y-o-Y and operating profit rose 15.8% Y-o-Y, both achieving double-digit growth. ROIC was 18.2% and ROE was 20.9%, both achieving the targets set out in the Mid-term Management Plan 2026. Regarding dividends for fiscal 2025, we will increase the dividend by JPY 0.5 from the initial plan, bringing it to an annual dividend of JPY 11.5. For fiscal 2026, we are forecasting an increase of JPY 1.5 from the previous year, reaching a record high annual dividend of JPY 13.

Now Mr. Kemmochi will provide an overview of our full year financial results. Mr. Kemmochi, please go ahead.

My name is Kemmochi. I will be serving as CFO starting in July, and I look forward to working with you. I will now provide an overview of the financial results for fiscal 2025, which has just finished. This is fiscal 2025 full year summary. Overall, the financial results were solid. Revenue increased 7.2% Y-o-Y to approximately JPY 1.5 trillion. Operating profit rose 15.8% to JPY 66.5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA, which we regard as our most important KPI, also grew 12.6% to JPY 88.1 billion, maintaining double-digit growth.

Profit increased 19% Y-o-Y, partly due to the impact of tax credits under the wage increase promotion tax system.

Furthermore, we exceeded all the financial targets of the initial earnings forecast shown on the right. Next, I will explain the full year analysis of increase, decrease in adjusted EBITDA. Gross profit increased 7% Y-o-Y, an increase of JPY 20.3 billion. Meanwhile, we continue to optimize SG&A expenses, resulting in adjusted EBITDA of JPY 88.1 billion. Next, I will explain the full year adjusted EBITDA versus operating profit. First, depreciation and amortization costs increased JPY 1.4 billion Y-o-Y to JPY 15.3 billion, while the additional provision for accrued paid leave increased JPY 300 million Y-o-Y to JPY 3.9 billion.

Other items include one-time factors such as the gain of JPY 2.7 billion from the sale of certain business in Q2 and an impairment loss of JPY 1.6 billion. Next, regarding revenue by SBU, all segments achieved revenue growth. I will explain the status of each SBU in the section on each SBU that follows. Next, regarding Y-o-Y adjusted EBITDA by SBU, all segments except the Asia Pacific SBU achieved an increase. I will explain the situation regarding the Asia Pacific SBU later in the section on SBU-specific results. The same applies to operating profit by SBU, so I would appreciate if you could take a look later.

This slide shows the achievement rate by SBU compared to the initial forecast announced last May, and we have generally met our targets across all SBUs. Please take a look at this later as well. Since this is our full year financial results, I will explain the balance sheet and cash flow. First, regarding changes on the left side of the balance sheet, the asset side, trade and other receivables, goodwill and intangible assets have increased significantly. This is due to the addition of Gojob, which we acquired last October. And as noted in the footnotes, the weakening of the yen compared to the end of the previous fiscal year, which led to an increase in APAC assets.

On the right side of the balance sheet, under liabilities, trade and other payables and other items have also increased following Gojob's acquisition. Next is about ROIC and ROE, which are indicators of capital efficiency. In the previous mid-term management plan, we set targets of 15% or higher for ROIC and 20% or higher for ROE. In fiscal 2025, ROIC stood at 18.2% and ROE at 20.9%, both exceeding the targets. Next, I will explain the balance of goodwill. The total amounts to JPY 94 billion. There was an increase of approximately JPY 18.9 billion due to the acquisition of Gojob, which I explained earlier.

Regarding Gojob, in addition to goodwill, we have recognized JPY 6.7 billion in intangible fixed assets, which are customer assets as noted in the footnote below. These assets are expected to be amortized over a period of just over 10 years with annual amortization cost of approximately JPY 500 million. Next is cash flow. As mentioned earlier, in fiscal 2025, we made an investment of approximately JPY 20 billion in connection with the acquisition of Gojob and generated free cash flow of just over JPY 40 billion. After paying dividends and other cash outflows, our cash and cash equivalents stand at just over JPY 80 billion, similar to last year.

I will now provide an overview of the financial results by SBU. First, let's look at the core Staffing SBU. Full year revenue increased 3.5% and adjusted EBITDA rose 12.3%. In the 3 months of Q4, both revenue and profit exceeded the previous year's levels, partly reflecting the contribution of 1 more operating day versus the previous year. Regarding KPIs, the number of active staffs rose 1.1% Y-o-Y, though the growth rate moderated due to a decline in demand from some customers. On the other hand, charge price increased 2.3% Y-o-Y, demonstrating strong growth. This chart shows the quarterly trends in our KPIs, so please take a look at it later.

Next is BPO SBU. Following the acquisition of CSL, former Fujitsu Communication Services, full year revenue increased 22.1%. Adjusted EBITDA rose 54.9%. Excluding CSL, organic revenue growth in Q4 was 5.5%. This was primarily due to the completion of several public sector projects on schedule. Organic growth for the full year was approximately 7%. Next is the Technology SBU. The Technology SBU saw revenue growth of approximately 9% for both the full year and the 3 months of Q4. Breaking down Q4 revenue, IT and DX Solutions performed strongly with revenue increase of 14.5%. Revenue from Engineering increased 8%.

As for registered temporary staffing and freelancers, although the number of active registered temporary engineers decreased, charge price increased, resulting in revenue growth of over 3%. Additionally, regarding the IT and DX Solutions contract services, which we explained in Q3, the number of active engineers increased in Q4, contributing to higher profits. This is the operating person month, operating rate and average sales per unit for in-house employees. First, the number of in-house employees increased 7.9% Y-o-Y, indicating a solid performance. However, the operating rate has declined slightly from 91.5% in Q4 last year to 90% in Q4 this fiscal year.

As we are gradually shifting from temporary staffing to contract work, we had already factored in the decline in the operating rate to some extent. However, we intend to implement measures to further improve the operating rate going forward. Average sales per unit increased 3.6%. Next is Career SBU. Full year revenue increased 5.7% Y-o-Y. In Q4, in the placement business, a trend towards selective hiring of the majority group who are job seekers with an average annual income range of JPY 4 million to JPY 6 million is gaining momentum, particularly among large companies in addition to the impact of internal factors.

As noted here, when we integrated the IDs for doda and doda X last year, users were required to log in again as part of the authorization process. However, due to defects in the log-in flow, some existing users ended up disengaged. Consequently, login rates and active users have declined, leading to a drop in applications. Because of the time lag between hiring decisions and new hires joining the company, this has begun to impact revenue starting in Q4. We estimate that the negative impact on revenue in Q4 will be approximately 2%. We completed fixing the log-in process by the end of last fiscal year, and with the accumulation of users who have logged in again and new registrants, we expect to return to pre-disengaged levels by the first half of fiscal 2026.

However, the impact on our performance is expected to continue through the first half of fiscal 2026, and we anticipate that this will push down the first half revenue by approximately 5%. For the details, please refer to Page 30. Meanwhile, placement business and support for side jobs and freelancers for the high-income group were strong as double-digit growth was achieved. Next is KPIs for Career SBU. Although the number of consultants in Q4 decreased by just over 7% Y-o-Y, productivity in Q4 improved by only 7% due in part to issues with the log-in process resulting from the IT integration I mentioned earlier.

Next is the Asia Pacific SBU. Full year revenue increased 4.3%. Market conditions of facility management business in Australia continue to perform well. While the temporary staffing market remained robust in Asia, it was sluggish in Australia. The placement business remained sluggish in both Australia and Asia. Adjusted EBITDA declined 10.2%. As we explained at the beginning of the fiscal year, we are undergoing the system renewal this year. And since we invested JPY 1.7 billion over the full fiscal year, our adjusted EBITDA increased for the SBU, excluding this.

Finally, we have Others and Adjusted. Revenue in Others increased approximately 42%, driven by revenue from Gojob, which we acquired in October. Gojob's revenue for the 3 months from January to March was JPY 10 billion. While this represents a slight decrease compared to the JPY 11.7 billion recorded in the previous quarter of October to December, which included peak seasons such as Christmas, the company is progressing as expected.

For Adjusted, as a result of group-wide system investments and an increase in intra-group transactions, adjusted EBITDA was negative JPY 11.5 billion. However, the results were generally in line with our initial forecast. That concludes my presentation on the company-wide situation for fiscal 2025 as well as the status of each SBU. That is all for me.

Now I would like to provide an overview of our mid-term management plan fiscal 2028. Rooted in the corporate philosophy, providing opportunity, individual growth, social contribution passed down since its founding, PERSOL aims to realize a society of Work and Smile. We will continue to move forward toward 2030, aiming to create better work opportunities for 1 million people. A review of the previous mid-term management plan is on the next page. In the previous mid-term management plan, we postponed the target year for achieving adjusted EBITDA and our efforts to improve ROIC of Asia Pacific SBU, which we had identified as a key priority, remained incomplete. On the other hand, our revenue, ROIC, ROE and shareholder returns are progressing as originally planned.

We will address the remaining issues in the new mid-term management plan. Our review and summary are as described. Following the Staffing SBU, the Career SBU has grown to an adjusted EBITDA of JPY 35 billion level, while the Technology SBU, BPO SBU and Asia Pacific SBU have each developed into businesses generating profits in the range of JPY 10 billion. Going forward, we will strive to enhance our operational capabilities so that we can adapt swiftly to environmental changes that exceed our expectations.

Next, I'd like to discuss the market changes in the AI, which was the area we focused on most closely when formulating the new mid-term management plan. The substitution of work by AI is undoubtedly gaining momentum, and the HR market is entering a major turning point. While the administrative market is shrinking due to AI substitution, this trend also holds the potential to expand our scope of work through increased workforce mobility and creation of new work opportunities. We believe that the era of massive labor mobility is not so far off. We believe it is crucial to make this trend work in our favor.

The first step PERSOL will take in the AI era is to fully leverage AI as a strategic partner. We will make it our strong ally. First is automation and efficiency gains driven by AI, followed by the reallocation of personnel, which means shifting employees to areas where value is created. Second is gaining a competitive advantage through AI. Third is expanding into frontline work areas that cannot be replaced by AI. In the age of AI, PERSOL's winning strategy lies in our ability to integrate AI into our business operations by combining the vast and diverse behavioral data collected from individuals, corporates and sales reps with AI. Through our strong AI implementation capabilities and our ability to effectively execute AI strategies, we will deliver services that will be highly valued by the market. This will enable us to create better work opportunities while simultaneously achieving high growth and profitability.

Now I will introduce our mid-term management plan, fiscal 2028. The direction of our new mid-term management plan is technology-driven. Our basic policy is to transform business models by using AI as a starting point. While actively investing in AI, we will secure profit growth of 10%. We will continue to manage the business with the same level of capital efficiency and shareholder returns as in the previous mid-term management plan. In the coming 3 years, we will focus on strengthening our profitability and laying the foundation for further growth through the use of AI. This is business positioning to enhance corporate value.

Our initiatives to enhance corporate value aim to increase profitability in our core businesses and enable focused investments in growth areas, namely the Career SBU and the Technology SBU. At the same time, we will swiftly launch the business and establish our presence in the frontline worker domain, which has the potential to become a pillar of growth from 2030 onwards. We will designate the Career SBU and the Technology SBU as priority investment areas as they are growth businesses expected to deliver high profitability and high growth beyond 2030. We define the Staffing SBU, BPO SBU and Asia Pacific SBU as profit-generating businesses and areas where we are focusing on refining our operations. Leveraging its strength of a placement business, Career SBU will be implementing AI-driven models to enhance matching quality and productivity through human expertise, proprietary data and AI, and shift resources to high-income domains.

We will work to maximize monetization opportunities through multilayered services. For Technology SBU, we will leverage advanced technical expertise to accelerate the shift to upstream contract work. We will strengthen upstream domains, including AI solutions to increase fees, increase the contract-based business to enhance profitability and drive scalable growth, including inorganic expansion. The staffing and the BPO SBUs will work to enhance profitability by refining business operations. I'd like to take a moment to explain a bit about our approach to frontline worker domain. This page outlines our vision for frontline worker domain, which we aim to make a pillar of our business from 2030 onwards.

We aim to achieve early commercialization and monetization by combining AI, Gojob's expertise and PERSOL's data in domains where there are structural labor shortages. By leveraging AI, we will expand into a new domain that we have not been able to fully address until now. We intend to tackle this domain head on, where the risk of AI replacing human work is extremely low and which is currently facing a severe labor shortage. We recognize that this domain holds significant potential amid the increasing workforce mobility driven by AI. We are confident that by promoting the use of AI and leveraging our expertise, we can contribute to improving working conditions and benefits for frontline workers.

Next, we have the fiscal 2028 targets by SBU, as you can see. In particular, during the new mid-term management plan period, the Career SBU has been struggling due to a slowdown in the market and the loss of some users following the defect in integration of the ID. However, we expect it to return to a growth trajectory from the second half of the year, driven by the expansion of our high-income domain, particularly HiPro. Additionally, in the Asia Pacific SBU, we have made significant changes to our management team and are in the process of revising our mid-term management plan. Therefore, it will take some time before we can announce the details. This is the overview of financial strategy.

During the new mid-term management plan period, we will ensure profit growth of 10% while maintaining a balanced approach to uphold investment discipline and maintain and improve capital efficiency with investments in business growth. Profit growth is targeting adjusted EBITDA CAGR of 10%. Capital efficiency is targeting to be at or above fiscal 2025 levels. Furthermore, in terms of capital allocation, we will allocate growth investments and shareholder returns on a 50-50 basis, in principle. In addition, regarding shareholder returns, we will revise the dividend payout ratio to 50% or higher. We view dividends as the primary form of shareholder return, and there should be no dividend reduction in principle, supported by sustained profit growth. Based on the progress of growth investments and the investment opportunities landscape, we will consider share buybacks flexibly from the perspective of capital efficiency.

Next, I'd like to explain our technology strategy. As I mentioned earlier, our technology strategy will be led by the holdings company, and we will focus on implementing cross SBU initiatives. AI and business, AI and work, AI and data. Guided by these themes, we will move forward together with the SBUs to improve labor productivity. This illustrates how AI transforms our business. Here are some use cases at the Staffing SBU. In terms of automation and labor saving, we will enhance customer satisfaction by especially improving productivity through higher interview setup rates by coordinators as well as by enhancing matching accuracy, speed, lead times and conversion rates as part of our competitive advantage strategy.

Furthermore, in line with the PERSOL's unique approach to AI utilization, as exemplified by our staff support initiatives, we will proactively anticipate staff needs to enhance customer satisfaction. The resulting improvements in retention rates and longer work period will have a significant positive impact on our revenue. Next, I will explain human resources strategy. In the era of AI adoption, HR strategy and AI strategy are inextricably linked when it comes to improving productivity. We are committed to simultaneously enhancing employee skill development, optimizing workforce allocation and enhancing engagement with the goal of increasing value-added and labor productivity.

We will aim to improve the career well-being of our employees and staffs, and to evolve the capabilities of both individuals and the organization to create value through collaboration between people and AI. Finally, I would like to announce our IR Day. On July 6, from 10 to 12, we will be holding sessions on the strategies of each SBU. We kindly ask that you make every effort to attend. That concludes my presentation on the mid-term management plan fiscal 2028.

Next, I would like to explain the full year financial forecast for fiscal 2026. For the full year, revenue is expected to increase 7% Y-o-Y to JPY 1.665 trillion, and operating profit is expected to increase 6.7% to JPY 71 billion. We anticipate that adjusted EBITDA, a key metric, will grow double digit, 10% to JPY 97 billion. Additionally, we project adjusted EPS to be JPY 22.68. Next, here are the forecasts by SBU. In the Staffing SBU, revenue is expected to be JPY 627 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be JPY 36.6 billion with a margin of 5.8%. Similarly, the BPO SBU forecasts revenue of JPY 152.5 billion, adjusted EBITDA of JPY 11 billion and margin of 7.2%. The Technology SBU also expects revenue of JPY 137.5 billion with adjusted EBITDA of JPY 11.3 billion and margin of 8.2%. In the Career SBU, revenue is expected to be JPY 156.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA of JPY 35.8 billion, margin of 22.9%.

In the Asia Pacific SBU, revenue is expected to be JPY 539 billion and adjusted EBITDA of JPY 12.6 billion. In particular, regarding Career SBU, as was mentioned earlier, on top of the continued sluggishness in some markets, we anticipate a shortfall of approximately 2.7% for the full year due to a decline in the number of existing users following the IT integration impact of doda and doda X. However, since system upgrades and other necessary measures have already been completed, we intend to take steps to restore registration levels to their previous state as quickly as possible.

Next, I'd like to briefly touch on the adjusted EBITDA and margin by SBU. As mentioned earlier, Career's performance has been irregular. So I hope you understand that this is having an impact. However, other businesses are performing as expected. So we intend to continue to cover this shortfall. Next is dividends. Here is the dividend forecast for fiscal 2026. As mentioned at the beginning, we have decided to set the year-end dividend for fiscal 2025 at JPY 6, an increase of JPY 0.5 from our initial forecast, bringing the annual dividend to JPY 11.5. Furthermore, we expect the annual dividend for fiscal 2026 will be JPY 13, an increase of JPY 1.5 compared to fiscal 2025, which would be a record high. We also expect dividend payout ratio to be at 57% level.

Last of all, I'd like to share one topic from the Group. As we've mentioned from the outset, we've been actively advancing our AI initiatives. The market has recognized this effort by selecting us as a DX Stock 2026. This recognition is not merely based on the formulation and public announcement of our AI basic policy, but also on our M&A activities, such as the acquisition of Gojob, a French company utilizing staffing platform, which demonstrates our commitment to driving an AI-led business transformation and expansion. It is for these reasons that we have been selected as a DX Stock 2026. We look forward to continuing to evolve into a technology-driven human resources company centered on AI and data.

That concludes the full year earnings forecast. Thank you.

[Statements in English on this transcript were

spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]

Hello. I am Wada from Persol Holdings. Thank you for your time today. Today, I would like to begin by sharing 3 key highlights with you. First is the cumulative results for Q3 of fiscal 2025. We achieved increase in both revenue and profits, and we are on track to meet our full year targets. Profits at each stage reached record highs and all SBUs achieved revenue growth. We currently anticipate meeting our planned target, including 10% growth in adjusted EBITDA and our operating profit forecast.

The second highlight is our current view on the business environment and outlook for fiscal 2026. As for the macro environment, given an uncertain economic outlook and the need to assess the effectiveness of AI implementation and its costs, some companies are showing signs of caution in their hiring. Despite these conditions, we aim to maintain steady revenue growth while enhancing profitability. Specifically, we intend to firmly pursue a 10% growth in adjusted EBITDA for the next fiscal year, focusing on enhancing profitability even in challenging environment. Details will be explained in the next midterm management plan to be announced in May.

Thirdly, I would like to briefly explain the current status and the future strategy of the Career SBU. Given the current market environment is experiencing some fluctuations, I would like to outline our initiatives in response, specifically our approach to the high-income group and our perspective on AI investments.

Now regarding the financial results, CFO, Tokunaga, will provide an explanation. Tokunaga-san, please.

Hello. This is Tokunaga, CFO. I will now present an overview of the cumulative results for the first 3 quarters and the results for each SBU. First, regarding the consolidated cumulative results in Q3, as Wada mentioned at the outset, the situation remained strong, similar to Q2. Specifically, we achieved growth exceeding 6% in both revenue and gross profit. For operating profit on an IFRS basis, it increased by 11.5% to JPY 53.9 billion. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 5% to JPY 68 billion. And for the cumulative quarterly profit through Q3, it increased by 10% to JPY 34.3 billion.

As explained during the Q2 earnings presentation, we divested our inventory-related business for JPY 2.7 billion in September. However, this is not included in adjusted EBITDA, which is why the growth rates for operating profit appear different.

Here, we have the year-on-year comparison of adjusted EBITDA for the first 3 quarters. As explained earlier, gross profit increased by 6% or JPY 15.9 billion. On the other hand, SG&A expenses rose by JPY 12.6 billion, primarily due to personnel expenses. Consequently, adjusted EBITDA totaled JPY 68 billion.

Regarding the impact of foreign exchange rates, gross profit was negatively affected by JPY 1.1 billion, and SG&A expenses were negative JPY 0.9 billion, resulting in a net decrease of JPY 0.2 billion.

This is the difference between adjusted EBITDA and operating profit. The trend is essentially similar to Q2.

Depreciation and amortization increased by JPY 1 billion year-on-year to JPY 11 billion. The additional accrued paid leave decreased to JPY 2.7 billion year-on-year. As a result, operating profit under IFRS was JPY 53.9 billion.

Next is the progress through to Q3 and the outlook for Q4. The progress rate of revenue was exactly 75%. For adjusted EBITDA, the progress rate was 78%. We expect to achieve the initial forecast at the beginning of the year of both adjusted EBITDA of JPY 86.5 billion and IFRS-based operating profit of JPY 66 billion.

Here is the progress rate by SBU. Our core Staffing SBU and Career SBU both achieved high progress rates, exceeding 80% for both adjusted EBITDA and IFRS-based operating profit. On the other hand, BPO and Technology SBUs, due to the nature of these businesses, tend to see profits concentrated in Q3 or Q4 and the progress rates are also somewhat behind schedule.

On Pages 9, 10 and 11, we have year-on-year comparisons of each SBU. Since I will be explaining the financial results summary for each SBU shortly, I will omit these details here.

Next, I will present the financial results summary by SBU. First, our core Staffing SBU. Revenue increased by 3% and adjusted EBITDA by 4.6%. Q3 shows flat performance at JPY 9.7 billion, both last year and this year. However, as noted in the upper right, this year's Q3 had 2 fewer working days compared to the previous year. KPIs remained largely unchanged compared to up to Q2. The number of active staffs increased by 1.9% compared to Q3 of last year and the charge price went up by 2.2%.

The next page shows the quarterly KPI trends. Please take a look at it later.

Next is BPO SBU. Following the acquisition of CSL, revenue increased by 27% and adjusted EBITDA rose by 39%. Regarding the quarterly breakdown, as shown on the right, apologies for the small font. Q2 showed substantial growth of 11.5% year-on-year, while Q3 saw a growth of 5.3%. This is primarily due to several public projects concluding as scheduled in Q2. For the full year, we anticipate organic growth, meaning growth, excluding the CSL acquisition of approximately 7%.

Next is Technology SBU. Technology SBU saw revenue growth of approximately 9%. As explained in Q2, delays in group development projects resulted in costs of about JPY 500 million combining Q1 and Q2. However, Q3 profit was JPY 2.8 billion, on par with last year's level. IT/DX saw a 10% increase in revenue, while mechanical and electrical engineering saw an 8% increase. However, for registered temporary staffing, similar to Staffing SBU, less number of working days had an impact. This is the number of in-house employees, operating rate and average sales per unit.

First, the number of in-house employees increased by 8.3% compared to the previous year, indicating a solid trend. However, the operating rate decreased by 2% from 91% last year to 89% in Q3 this year. For us, this decline is partly anticipated due to our gradual shift from outsourcing to contracting. However, we are considering ways to further improve the operating rate for the next fiscal year. The average sales per unit increased by just over 2%.

Next, we have Career SBU. Cumulative revenue for the first 3 quarters increased by 6.7%, consistent with the first 2 quarters, while adjusted EBITDA grew by 16.7%, achieving significant profit growth.

Regarding market conditions, while the number of registered individuals were recovering, companies showed a strong tendency to be more cautious in hiring human resources. Wada will later explain the current state of the recruitment market and our strategy.

Next, regarding the productivity of placement business. Q3 saw productivity improvements exceeding 10%, consistent with the first 2 quarters. While the number of consultants continue to show a slight decrease as before, depending on market conditions going forward, we plan to consider increasing this number for the next fiscal year while monitoring productivity.

This is Asia Pacific SBU. Excluding exchange rate impact, revenue increased by 4.3%. As for the market trends, facility management in Australia continues to perform well. For temporary staffing, the picture is somewhat mixed. Asia is steady, but Australia is sluggish. As for placement, both Australia and Asia continue to show sluggishness.

For profits, as explained at the beginning of the fiscal year, we plan to make system investments and continued a JPY 0.3 billion investment in Q3. However, we were able to achieve profit of JPY 3.1 billion, a year-on-year increase.

Finally, others and adjusted. Revenue contribution from GoJob, acquired in October, for the October to December period was JPY 11.7 billion. As the October to December period is high season in France, EBITDA turned positive. Combined with improvements in others, adjusted EBITDA for Q3 was JPY 0.8 billion.

Regarding the balance sheet impact from consolidating Gojob, current assets increased by approximately JPY 15 billion and goodwill increased by approximately JPY 23 billion. Detailed materials are included in the latter part of this document and in the earnings release. Please refer to them by yourselves later.

Adjusted is as stated. This period saw adjusted EBITDA of negative JPY 8.5 billion due to group-wide system investments and increased intra-group transactions, but this aligns with the initial forecast.

Please refer to Pages 22 and 23 for KPIs. I have explained the company-wide situation for Q3 and the SBU financial results. This concludes my part of the presentation.

Next, I would like to briefly explain our current view on business environment and outlook for fiscal 2026. As stated here, we recognize that the Staffing, BPO and Technology SBUs are likely to maintain largely similar growth next fiscal year to this fiscal year. Specifically, regarding Staffing SBU, while there are initiatives like AI adoption, demand for temporary staffing remains substantial. Therefore, we expect stable growth consistent with the current levels.

Next is BPO SBU. While there are concerns about AI replacing certain areas such as call centers, demand itself is not declining, and we continue to receive requests for AI, digital transformation facilitation, et cetera. Therefore, we expect generally steady growth in the next fiscal year as well.

Next is Technology SBU. The shortage of engineers has persisted in the market for some time. We recognize that this high demand will continue. However, we also observed factors such as exchange rate issues and increased caution in investment decisions within the automotive industry. Taking these factors into account, we believe that growth of just under 10% will be achievable in the next fiscal year as well.

Regarding Career SBU, I will provide a more detailed explanation later. While the high-income group remains active, there is a noticeable trend toward cautious hiring in the majority group, specifically the JPY 4 million to JPY 6 million annual income bracket, where we traditionally excel. This stems from companies keeping AI adoption, future trends and productivity gains from AI implementation firmly in their sites. Consequently, selective hiring has become the dominant trend. Therefore, we project growth of around 5% for this fiscal year and anticipate that level continuing into the next period. We will share our strategy considering the future situation a little later.

Next is Asia Pacific sbu. As Tokunaga reported earlier, while regional disparities exist, we have reached a state where we can secure a certain level of profitability. However, based on our current assessment, we do not expect to achieve the 10% ROIC target for APAC set in the current midterm management plan. We take this situation seriously. We must further optimize our portfolio going forward and significantly strengthen our revenue structure and foundation.

As previously announced, we changed the leadership for Asia Pacific SBU this February. Starting in April, we have established a formation to drive even greater improvements in profitability.

Now I will provide a more detailed update on the status of Career SBU. Looking at the current market environment, as has been the case historically, the demand for talent itself will continue to grow significantly in this segment. This is driven by several societal factors, demographic trends, the evolving skills required by companies, increasing proportion of job changes facilitated by recruitment agencies and similar services and the rising number of job changes per individual. Therefore, the market in this area will undoubtedly expand. However, the current situation is that the companies are assessing how AI adoption will impact their talent strategies, and how they need to adjust their talent portfolios.

Consequently, we anticipate a trend where companies will continue to actively pursue high-income group hires while proceeding cautiously with majority group talent, monitoring future developments. Therefore, while we naturally aim to ensure a robust growth in the majority group, we recognize that growing this higher income group is crucial.

This is our current situation. This bar graph shows the revenue trends by salary range. The majority group has seen growth at around 10% CAGR. Meanwhile, the high-income group has a CAGR of over 30%. So the rate of growth is different. Looking at year-on-year growth, we project the majority group will likely grow at around 3%, while the high-income group is expected to grow at around 12%. Therefore, we recognize that further expanding this high-income group will be necessary over the next few years.

In this environment, the question is, what we should do? That said, the majority group does represent a certain volume, and it is essential that we respond to it effectively. Additionally, achieving growth of high-income group simultaneously is a crucial point. Specifically, going forward, by consolidating efforts through the doda brand, we aim to attract more individuals. We will further leverage the AI we employ to enhance productivity.

On the job seeker side, we aim to increase the frequency of service usage or the frequency of successful placements. That is our approach. Specifically, our strength lies in our multilayered services: doda, doda X and HiPro, particularly doda X and HiPro cover the high-income group. By having various individuals, those in placement, job media, headhunting, direct recruiting as well as side jobs and freelancing enter our database, we increased the number of applications per person. Essentially, we believe this approach ensures each individual has more reliable opportunities, and we have the results to prove it.

We have also been continuously advancing our AI investments, particularly focusing on enhancing productivity and increasing added value for both companies and job seekers. We are transforming our business model by leveraging AI. Areas such as counseling, interviews, schedule coordination and resume creation are highly suitable for AI. We have already implemented AI for job posting creation, screening and scouting e-mails. We've achieved significant efficiency gains in areas like scout e-mail creation and job posting creation.

Considering the workload involved, our proprietary data, AI and algorithms have proven highly effective. We anticipate a roughly 40% reduction in workforce would be possible compared to 2025 level. Furthermore, we project productivity will increase by 1.4x. By advancing these initiatives, we aim to generate solid profits in our existing majority group business while also securing growth in the high-income group.

Next, we have the group topics. We are working to enhance social value by adopting Work and Smile as our group vision. Within this context, we are publishing this human capital report with the intention of clearly demonstrating the value of initiatives that boost engagement and enhance well-being for Work and Smile initiatives that are also valuable for companies. It has been very well received, so we encourage everyone to take a look when you have the opportunity. It details the relationship between employee engagement and business performance, including the models that describe this connection. We highly recommend you to read it.

We are conducting our Work and Smile global survey. In partnership with Gallup, this fixed-point observation marks our fifth year of ongoing research. We aim to clarify what initiatives lead to employees' Work and Smile and how this, in turn, contributes to improved corporate performance and productivity.

Now regarding our main topics. We have topics of various business segments I'd like you to review, but particularly in Staffing SBU, the overall satisfaction ranking is a truly crucial metric. We've held the top position here for 7 consecutive years. We aim to remain a company consistently chosen by our staff. Furthermore, in Technology SBU, we received the Education Award in Microsoft Japan Partner of the Year 2025. Additionally, across the entire company, we have received a star in Cyber Index Corporate Survey for 3 consecutive years. We hope you will look at these points and gain a solid understanding of our group.

This concludes my presentation. Thank you very much.

[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]

Thank you very much for joining us today. I am Wada, Representative Director, President and CEO. Here are the 3 points I would like to share with you today. First one is about our performance for the first half in FY 2025. The first 6 months performance in the year grew as planned. We also expect to achieve our full year plan. What is notable is that profit at all levels reached new records in the first half of the year. In the second half, we'll incur certain M&A expenses, but taking these into account, we still expect to achieve a 10% increase in adjusted EBITDA to JPY 86.5 billion.

The second point is the acquisition of Gojob shares on October 1, which I will explain more later. And here's the third point. I will briefly touch on plans for the next fiscal year and beyond. We want to achieve solid growth in the next fiscal year onwards, and we also strive to realize well-disciplined growth with a strong focus on capital efficiency while striking a fine balance with shareholders' returns.

Now Mr. Tokunaga, our CFO, will provide an overview of the financial results for the first half of the fiscal year. Mr. Tokunaga, over to you.

I am Tokunaga. I will provide an overview of the consolidated financial results for the first half of the year, followed by an overview of the financial result in the current status by SBU, and the interim dividend at the end.

First is the overview of the first half consolidated financial results. Revenue and gross profit grew by about 5% year-on-year. As Mr. Wada explained earlier, profits at all levels also marked a record high. Specifically, operating profit increased 14% year-on-year to JPY 36.6 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased 3.7% to JPY 44.3 billion. Profit also increased 12% to JPY 23.9 billion. I will share more details on this later, but we sold an inventory-related business in September, which generates a profit of JPY 2.7 billion. As a result, operating profit and profit increased significantly. Please note that the adjusted EBITDA doesn't include a one-off gain on sale, resulting in the difference.

Next are the factors behind the increase and decrease in adjusted EBITDA from the first half of the previous year. Gross profit increased by JPY 8.9 billion. On the other hand, SG&A went up by JPY 7.3 billion due to increases in personnel and system expenses, resulting in a net increase of adjusted EBITDA by JPY 1.6 billion. As mentioned here, ForEx impact on gross profit was JPY 1.5 billion year-on-year, so as SG&A was an impact of JPY 1.3 billion, resulting in a net decrease of about JPY 200 million.

Next is about the difference between adjusted EBITDA and operating profit. To begin with, depreciation increased by JPY 0.7 billion year-on-year, but the additional provision for accrued paid leave was minus JPY 0.8 billion, which is mainly due to Asia Pacific SBU. Then as I mentioned earlier, the gain on the sale of the inventory-related business of JPY 2.7 billion is added, resulting in operating profit of JPY 36.6 billion.

Next is the achievement status against the plan for the first half. With regards to revenue, as you saw, the achievement rate is around 100% in all SBUs, which is almost in line with the forecast. On the other hand, adjusted EBITDA in the Technology SBU was down JPY 0.8 billion. The reason for that, which I will explain later, is the delays in system development within the group. Also adjustment, which are mainly holding company's expenses have worsened by JPY 1.1 billion due to expenses for M&A such as Gojob higher than the forecast at the beginning of the year. Other SBUs outperformed the first half plan, resulting in a total JPY 1.3 billion increase in adjusted EBITDA.

The Page 8 presents the revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and operating profit achievement rate for the first half, as well as the full year progress rate by SBU. Appreciate if you would take a look at the details later. In the middle of the table, the progress rate of adjusted EBITDA in the Technology SBU is lagging due to the delays in system development within the group explained earlier.

The Page 9 shows our full year forecast, including the one for the second half of the year. Revenue for the first half was almost in line with the plan, and the second half is projected to progress in line with the plan as well. With regards to adjusted EBITDA, as Mr. Wada explained earlier, expenses are expected to increase by about JPY 1 billion from the initial forecast due to PMI expenses associated with the Gojob acquisition. However, as first half profits outperformed by JPY 1.3 billion, which will offset expense increase to achieve full year profit of JPY 86.5 billion.

The next Pages 10, 11 and 12, represent the revenues, adjusted EBITDA and operating profit by SBU compared to the previous year. I'll come back to the point during SBU.

So let me move to the next. Here is a summary of the financial results by SBU. First up is the staffing SBU. Looking at the KPIs, the number of active staff in Q2 increased by 2.2%, the same as in Q1. The charge price also increased by 2.1%, resulting in a total revenue increase of 3.7% year-on-year. We were also able to properly control SG&A, resulting in a profit of JPY 18.2 billion, 7.4% up on a year-on-year basis.

The next page covers quarterly result of charge price and number of active staff. Appreciate if you could take a look at it later.

Next is the BPO SBU. In the BPO SBU, revenue increased by about 27%, contributed by the acquisition of CSL last fiscal year. Adjusted EBITDA also increased by 53%, achieving significant increase in both revenue and profits. We call the revenue and adjusted EBITDA, excluding the CSL acquisition organic, and the organic revenue grew by 11% in the second quarter. As described here, cumulative organic revenue for the first half increased by just over 8%, led by solid performance in public sector and local governments.

The third SBU is the technology. Starting off with revenue, it increased by 10% year-on-year. The breakdown is shown on the right. We saw revenue increase by about 6% in the IT and DX solutions by just over 8% in the mechanical and electrical engineering and by 1.5% in registered temporary staffing and freelancers. We also maintained the turnover rate at 8% range in Q2.

On the other hand, as explained at the outset, the adjusted EBITDA has been affected by delays in system development within the group. Expenses for the entire first half of the year have increased by about JPY 500 million compared to the plan. However, this has been resolved in the first half, so we do not expect its impact dragging on in the second half.

On the next page, we share the operating person months, operating rate and average sales per unit, excluding registered temporary staff and freelancers for your reference.

Next is Career SBU. With regards to the career market, there were no major changes in Q2, so was in Q1. In the major group, both individual and corporate customers remain cautious. Meanwhile, the high-income group continues to experience high growth. As a result, revenue increased by 6.8% year-on-year as shown in the chart. As for profit, marketing investment increased by about JPY 1 billion compared to the first half of last year. Other than marketing, expenses have properly controlled and EBITDA grew by 18.7%.

With regards to productivity and number of personnel in the placement business, productivity improved significantly following the same trend in the first quarter. The number of consultant declined slightly from 2,785 in the first quarter. In view of placement market outlook in the next fiscal year, we would like to look into potential increase of personnel if needed in the second half of the year within the range where we can maintain the level of productivity.

The last SBU is the Asia Pacific SBU. Starting off with the ForEx impact, there was a negative impact of JPY 13.7 billion in the first half of the year, but in local currency, it is an increase in the revenue of about 5%. With regards to trends by business and the market, facility management continues to perform well. Temporary staffing and slightly patchy. Asia is steady, while Australia is somehow sluggish. Placement remains rather weak in both Asia and Australia. As for adjusted EBITDA, as explained at the time of the first quarter financial briefing, we plan to spend about JPY 2 billion on system renewal this fiscal year, primarily in the facility management business. We recorded JPY 800 million in the first half, and the impact of ForEx rates was about JPY 300 million on adjusted EBITDA in the first half.

Regarding others and adjustments, there have been no major changes compared to the first half of the last year. As for the adjustments, expenses have increased by about JPY 3 billion due to an increase in the financial and management accounting system-related expenses for the holding company year-on-year, along with the increase in M&A expenses, including Gojob.

The KPI status of each SBU is listed on Page 23 and 24, so please take a look at them later.

Next, I will briefly explain the interim dividend. At the beginning of this fiscal year, we announced a full year dividend forecast of JPY 11. Today, we resolved to pay an interim dividend of JPY 5.5 for the first half of the fiscal year as planned. We also forecast a year-end dividend of JPY 5.5.

That concludes my presentation on the overview of the consolidated financial results, the current status by SBU, and the interim dividend.

Thank you, Mr. Tokunaga. Next, I will give a brief explanation on the progress of the current midterm management plan. In the midterm management plan, we set the management direction to become a technology-driven HR service company and have been pushing it forward. As shown in the chart, the Staffing SBU and BPO SBU are described as a workforce business, which means that the increase in the personnel is largely in line with top line growth. Going forward, as the light blue area at the top shows, increase of personnel will not be in sync with business growth. We laid out a policy to enhance the technology-driven platform, which enables us to drive businesses without adding personnel.

Here are the 4 areas defined in our technology policy. The area #3 is about improving value of core businesses, and #4 is about creation of new values, which led to the acquisition of Gojob. As more details are on the next slide, we announced the acquisition of Gojob shares on October 1. 85.2% of the shares were acquired and brought us an AI-driven staffing platform. We believe that the Gojob's technological capabilities, growth potential and scalability are particularly attractive. Almost 2 years of research in the various companies led us to this company. We were fully aware of their strengths before proceeding with this M&A deal. As mentioned at the beginning, we believe that these 3 factors, technology, growth potential and scalability are a perfect match with our digital platform business to grow further.

The strengths are listed here. A good example is the lead time for confirmation. It takes about 2 days to confirm in the traditional staffing business, but it can be done in only 24 minutes with Gojob. Or the cancellation rate of candidate is below 1%. We're able to provide a service highly satisfying both corporate clients and candidates. As shown in the upper left, repeat rate of job seekers reaches 75% and customer satisfaction is quite high at 73%. Both numbers are maintained at the high level in the industry. Therefore, these are the driving force behind the growth. Remarkably, this business has achieved a fivefold revenue growth in 5 years without adding recruiters. This is the proof that you can grow 5x without increasing headcount leveraged by the model. It's a formula in a format applicable to other businesses.

With these efforts, we'll continue to achieve sustainable growth in the next fiscal year onward while improving profitability. We'll make a solid progress in AI use, especially in Japan, while enhancing value of the core business. We set a profitability target in 2027 and 2028 by SBU, 6% for Staffing SBU, 8% for BPO SBU, and 10% for Technology SBU, respectively, to ensure the profit improvement.

We'll also accelerate investment in AI and the Career SBU more to execute both improvement of productivity and business expansion at the same time. In addition, we're actively driving profitability improvements in Asia Pacific SBU and are dedicated to ensuring their success. This will allow us to firmly achieve 10% adjusted EBITDA growth in this fiscal year and the future. The specific details will be available around the time of our financial result announcement in May 2026.

Next section is group topics. The PERSOL Group Integrated Reports 2025 was published. This is positioned as a progress review of our midterm management plan, and it also helps you have better understanding on our business in details. We are grateful that last year, our integrated report received an award and it was also recognized by the GPIF. For this year, we have enhanced the content in a way that lives up to that recognition, so we encourage you to take a look at it.

There are various general topics. The Expo 2025 is over, but we will continue to support those who have experience in the operation of the Expo. Also, in an attempt to integrate AI into our business, we shared various topics here. At the very end, we announced the result of the company-wide Workers Well-being Survey 2025. We engaged in initiatives to accomplish the coexistence of business growth, social value and economic value. We're demonstrating our commitment to becoming a Career Well-being Creation Company. The survey results show how our initiatives meet our commitment. So I hope you will find a time to look at it.

That concludes my report.

[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]