IWATSUKA CONFECTIONERY CO.,LTD.

Iwatsuka Confectionery Co., Ltd. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, operating as a rice cracker (senbei) specialty manufacturer. The company manufactures and sells uruchi rice crackers and mochi rice crackers, centered on core brands such as "Inaka no Okaki," "Aji Shirabe," and "Iwatsuka no Kuromame Senbei." The group consists of five consolidated subsidiaries (Zuika Co., Ltd., Niigata Ajinoren Honpo Co., Ltd., Satoyama Genki Farm Co., Ltd., Tanabe Kashiho Co., Ltd., and IWATSUKA USA Inc.) and one equity-method affiliate (Want Want Japan Co., Ltd.). Major customers include food wholesalers and trading companies such as Mitsubishi Shokuhin, Marubeni, and Confex, through which the company delivers its products to a wide range of consumers via retail stores nationwide. The company operates as a single segment in the confectionery business, and consolidated net sales for FY2026 (ending March 2026) reached ¥28,848 million.

The company manufactures rice crackers at its own factories (Iizuka, Sawashitajo, Nagaoka, Hokkaido, BEIKA Lab, etc.) and sells them to retailers nationwide via food wholesalers and trading companies. It suppresses sales promotion expenses by concentrating sales on its core product lineup, referred to as the "TOP6+2," and promoting their establishment as standard products, while improving sales unit prices through enhanced brand recognition via TV commercials and the penetration of price revisions. On the manufacturing side, it curbs costs by reducing labor through the introduction of automated equipment and DX promotion, and seeks to improve supply chain efficiency through joint delivery and pallet logistics with other companies in the same industry. Stock dividends from WANT WANT CHINA HOLDINGS LIMITED. also constitute an important component of ordinary income.

Revenue increased for five consecutive fiscal years, rising from ¥18,044 million in FY2022 (ended March 2022) to ¥28,848 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026). In FY2026, sales grew sharply, up 15.6% year on year, driven by the promotion of core products as standard offerings and the spread of price revisions. Operating profit reached ¥867 million (up 6.4% year on year), securing a third consecutive year of profit growth. However, due to the external factor of a decrease in dividend income received from the Want Want Group, which fell from ¥2,816 million in the previous period to ¥1,853 million, ordinary profit dropped significantly to ¥2,880 million (down 27.3% year on year), and profit attributable to owners of the parent fell sharply to ¥2,032 million (down 30.1% year on year). Cost increases stemming from the external factor of soaring raw rice prices also weighed on earnings. For FY2027 (ending March 2027), the company forecasts revenue of ¥30,600 million, operating profit of ¥300 million, ordinary profit of ¥1,900 million, and net profit of ¥1,300 million, with rising costs expected to significantly compress profits.