ASMARQ Co., Ltd.

Business Details

Asmarq Company, Limited provides marketing research services covering the entire value chain from issue organization to survey design, fieldwork, tabulation, and report delivery, centered on three services: Online Research, Offline Research, and Panel Recruiting. The company owns a proprietary panel of over one million members in Japan (D style web), and its clients span research companies, advertising agencies, general consumer goods manufacturers, and others. The company holds ISO 20252 certification, providing objective assurance of quality. Reen Nishikata Co., Ltd. was newly consolidated starting from the first half of FY2026 (ending November 2026).

Recent Overview

Net sales increased slightly, but operating profit declined sharply by 47.8% year on year due to an increase in SG&A expenses

Net sales for the first half of FY2026 (ending November 2026) (December 2025 to May 2026) were ¥2,414 million (up 1.2% year on year), a modest increase. Meanwhile, selling, general and administrative expenses increased from ¥755 million to ¥837 million, causing gross profit to decline from ¥1,000 million to ¥965 million, and operating profit fell sharply to ¥128 million (down 47.8% year on year). Orders from the beverage industry and advertising agency industry grew, but orders for internet research declined. Reen Nishikata Co., Ltd. was newly consolidated, causing goodwill to increase from ¥88 million to ¥253 million. The company raised ¥184 million in long-term borrowings, turning financing activities cash flow positive. There is no change to the full-year earnings forecast (net sales of ¥4,700 million, operating profit of ¥200 million).

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Continued expansion of research demand from the beverage industry and advertising agency industry
• Growth of the Panel Recruiting Service, primarily among research companies
• Increase in orders for offline research (group interviews, depth interviews)
• Increase in the number of annual client companies and contact points through new client development and deepening relationships with existing clients
• Non-continuous growth through M&A and alliances (new consolidation of Reen Nishikata Co., Ltd.)
• Strengthening of digital service development through a capital alliance with AI solutions company Skill Bridge
• Continued expansion of the domestic marketing research market (scale of ¥2,725 million)

Risks

• Decrease in orders from research companies due to progress in in-house handling of projects by major research companies
• Changes in sales composition and deterioration of profitability due to declining demand for internet research
• Rising outsourcing ratio and deterioration of cost of sales ratio due to increased orders for offline research (cost of sales increased from ¥1,384 million to ¥1,449 million)
• Increase in SG&A expenses and pressure on profit due to human capital investment (recruitment and training) for next-period growth (SG&A expenses increased from ¥755 million to ¥837 million)
• Increase in goodwill amortization burden due to M&A (goodwill amortization increased from ¥4 million in the same period of the prior year to ¥12 million in the current interim period)
• Increase in interest-bearing debt and rising financial leverage due to long-term borrowing (equity ratio declined from 62.6% to 57.4%)
• Economic uncertainty due to instability in the international situation and trade environment (instability in the Middle East, rising energy resource prices)
• Risk of increased costs for maintaining and managing panel quality and quantity (point provision) (increased from ¥263 million to ¥279 million)