NorthSand, Inc.

Business Details

NorthSand Inc. has adopted the vision of "Designing the World" and provides IT Consulting (IT mid-term plan formulation, architecture design, IT operations improvement, etc.) and Business Consulting (Non-IT areas such as marketing, sales, and human resources) as an integrated offering. In addition, the company operates the Notion Service as the world's first sales agent for Notion Labs, Inc. It supports major domestic companies across industries and has offices in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. In FY2027 (ending January 2027), recruitment of new consultants has progressed smoothly, and a high utilization rate has been maintained.

Recent Overview

In Q1 FY2027 (ending January 2027), net sales were ¥8,856 million and operating profit was ¥1,809 million; the full-year forecast remains unchanged

In the first quarter of FY2027 (ending January 2027) (February to April 2026), recruitment of new consultants progressed smoothly, and a high utilization rate was maintained, resulting in net sales of ¥8,856 million, operating profit of ¥1,809 million, ordinary profit of ¥1,815 million, and quarterly net profit of ¥1,337 million. There has been no change to the full-year earnings forecast (net sales of ¥38,493 million, operating profit of ¥8,630 million), and the Q1 progress rate against the full-year net sales forecast was approximately 23.0%. On the financial side, guarantee deposits increased by ¥1,655 million (believed to reflect investment in office expansion), and the equity ratio improved to 80.0%. The annual dividend forecast is ¥33.00 per share (paid as a single year-end dividend).

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Continued expansion of new consultant recruitment and maintenance of a high utilization rate (above 90% since founding)
• Improvement in customer loyalty through the "fan-building cycle" and continued/expanded orders from existing customers
• Enhanced account management sophistication and improved utilization rate through a division of labor between consultants and the sales/project development team
• Continued growth of the domestic IT services market (forecast CAGR of 6.6% for 2024-2029) and the business consulting market (forecast CAGR of 10.1% for 2023-2028)
• Robust demand for the consulting industry driven by growing demand for business transformation, including the use of advanced technologies such as generative AI
• Fundraising and increased brand recognition through listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market (November 21, 2025)
• Continued increase in average unit price and improvement in gross profit margin

Risks

• Intensifying competition for talent acquisition in the consulting industry and rising recruitment costs and personnel expenses
• Risk of revenue concentration on specific customers (Hitachi, Ltd. accounted for 10.2% of net sales in FY2025, ended January 2025)
• Risk of declining utilization rate: deterioration in profitability if project acquisition fails to keep pace with the increase in the number of consultants
• Commoditization of consulting services (increasing difficulty of differentiation due to the spread of generative AI and the proliferation of skill-related publications)
• Suppression of client company investment due to foreign exchange fluctuations, international geopolitical risk, US administration trade policy, Middle East affairs, and other factors
• Risk of delays in establishing internal management systems and compliance frameworks amid rapid growth