ENVALITH
株式会社朝日ネット logo

Asahi Net, Inc.

3834・Prime Market・Information & Communication

Official website
株式会社朝日ネット logo
Asahi Net, Inc.3834

Business

Asahi Net, Inc. is an independent ISP (Internet Service Provider) established in 1990, providing FTTH, mobile, and other internet connection services to individuals and corporations under the "ASAHI Net (ISP)" brand. In addition, the company develops and operates in-house the VNE "v6 Connect (VNE)," which connects directly to NTT East and West's FLET'S network and wholesales IPv6 connectivity to other telecommunications carriers, as well as "manaba," a cloud-based educational support service for universities. The company is listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Internet connection services account for approximately 90% of revenue, with the remainder comprised of internet-related services (manaba, etc.). Major customers span a wide range, including individual members, corporations, telecommunications carriers, and universities and other educational institutions.

Business Model

The core of revenue is stock-type income from monthly membership fees for FTTH and mobile connections, with 514 thousand FTTH subscriber IDs as of the end of March 2026 forming a stable revenue base. In addition, the VNE business v6 Connect (VNE) recorded sales of ¥2,415 million through usage-based billing tied to the traffic volume of partner VNO operators, creating a structure in which increased traffic directly translates into higher revenue. The educational support service manaba operates on a billing structure based on the number of contracted IDs, with continuous billing from schools that have adopted it institution-wide underpinning revenue. Backed by a financial foundation with no interest-bearing debt and an equity ratio of 90.3%, operating cash flow is used to fund capital expenditures and dividends.

Company Strengths

The company has received the "No.1 Overall Satisfaction in the Provider Category" award in the third-party "RBB TODAY Broadband Award" for 12 consecutive years, 15 times in total. The average churn rate remained at the industry's lowest level of 0.61% in FY2026 (ending March 2026), with high-quality connectivity and support systems encouraging continued customer usage.

As of the end of FY2026 (ending March 2026), the equity ratio stood at 90.3%, with total liabilities limited to ¥1,406 million, maintaining a virtually debt-free management structure. Operating cash flow secured ¥1,914 million, enabling the company to fund capital expenditures of ¥2,941 million and dividends of ¥659 million from internal resources, demonstrating financial independence. ROE has ranged between 9.9% and 13.7% over the past five years, against a target of 10% or higher.

The company operates native-method IPv6 connectivity that directly connects with the NTT East and NTT West Flet's network (NGN) on its own backbone, providing this both to ISP members and, as v6 Connect (VNE), on a wholesale basis to 10 partner VNO operators. Operating the backbone using proprietary technology achieves both communication quality and appropriate management of communication costs, building a network infrastructure that is difficult for competitors to replicate in a short period.

ENVALITH's Perspective

In FY2026 (ending March 2026), net sales increased to ¥13,517 million (up 3.4% year on year), but operating profit fell sharply to ¥1,791 million (down 23.6% year on year). Cost of sales ballooned to ¥9,407 million (¥8,641 million in the prior period), driven by increased line procurement costs from growth in FTTH subscriptions, higher depreciation and outsourcing expenses related to the core system renewal, and rising raw material costs and wages. SG&A expenses also increased to ¥2,318 million (¥2,091 million in the prior period) due to strengthened promotions. The operating margin fell sharply to 13.3% from 17.9% in the prior period, and close attention should be paid to the likelihood that cost-increase pressures will continue for the time being.

v6 Connect (VNE) maintained strong growth in FY2026 (ending March 2026), reaching ¥2,415 million (up 11.8% year on year). External tailwinds included increased traffic from exclusive internet distribution of video streaming and sports broadcasts, as well as the spread of online gaming. Meanwhile, the number of partner operators remained flat at 10 from the prior period, and the structural dependence on specific VNO operators remains unchanged. The risk that a partner operator's business contraction or price negotiations could directly affect performance continues to exist.

For the educational support service manaba (Learning Management System), the number of contract IDs as of the end of March 2026 stood at 761 thousand (down 0.9% year on year), the number of schools with institution-wide adoption was 86 (down 2.3% year on year), and revenue was ¥560 million (down 2.9% year on year), continuing a trend of contraction. The LMS market is undergoing polarization and commoditization, splitting into cost-focused and value-focused segments, and the company is continuing a large-scale development investment program spanning two years from FY2025 (ending March 2025). While the company aims to complete development of a student support solution by the end of FY2027 (ending March 2027), the outlook for investment recovery and the ability to curb existing customer attrition will be key to diversifying revenue.

Growth Strategy

Aiming for sustainable growth through strengthening the three businesses of ISP, VNE, and manaba, along with support for next-generation communications and a review of the fee structure

The company aims to continue increasing FTTH subscriptions from 514 thousand IDs as of the end of March 2026, through strengthened member acquisition via the NTT channel and web channel, expansion of the all-unit condominium subscription plan, and reinforced measures for individual and corporate customers under the fiber-optic collaboration model "AsahiNet Hikari." A review of the fee structure for some FTTH connection services is planned for implementation in February 2027.

The company has begun supporting "Flet's Hikari 25G," a service offering upload/download speeds of approximately 25Gbps that NTT East began providing from March 2026. In addition to "Flet's Hikari Cross" with speeds of up to 10Gbps, the company is expanding its ultra-high-speed communication lineup to maintain communication quality and improve customer satisfaction amid growing traffic volumes.

The company continues to optimize pricing to support the business expansion of partner VNO operators, and to review network maintenance costs. It is pursuing efforts to expand traffic processing capacity while suppressing cost increases through partial reconfiguration of the IPv6 network structure. Net sales for FY2026 (ending March 2026) maintained high growth at ¥2,415 million (up 11.8% year on year).

Large-scale development continues, with the two-year period from FY2025 (ending March 2025) designated as an intensive development period. Approximately 50 new features were released as the third installment as of the end of March 2026. The company is advancing joint research on behavioral analysis utilizing learning history and event log data, aiming to develop, by the end of FY2027 (ending March 2027), a student support solution that integrates AI utilization and consulting.

Part of the core system renewal effort, underway since the previous fiscal year, was released in FY2026 (ending March 2026). During the current period, this has pressured earnings through increased depreciation expenses and outsourcing costs, but the operational efficiency and cost structure improvements expected after completion of the renewal serve as the premise for a medium-term recovery in profitability. Capital expenditure of ¥2,500 million is planned for FY2027 (ending March 2027).

Last updated: July 19, 2026