Forum Engineering Inc.

Business Details

Engineer staffing services targeting approximately 3,200 business sites of major manufacturers across the 8 core machinery and electrical industries account for the majority of revenue. Based on its proprietary AI skill matching platform Cognavi (AI Matching Platform), the company offers four services—staffing, career change, new graduate job placement support, and corporate training brokerage—building a business model that captures engineers across all career scenes. Dispatched engineers are, in principle, employed as full-time employees, and the company adopts a stable employment model that selects workplaces within commuting range.

Recent Overview

Revenue and operating profit increased year on year, but the recording of ¥426 million in expenses related to the tender offer limited growth in ordinary profit

For the cumulative nine months of FY2026 (ending March 2026) (April to December 2025), revenue was ¥28,155 million (up 8.1% year on year) and operating profit was ¥3,979 million (up 16.5% year on year), performing well. However, because ¥426 million in expenses related to the tender offer by KJ003 Co., Ltd. was recorded as non-operating expenses, ordinary profit was limited to ¥3,617 million (up 4.0% year on year). The number of active personnel increased by 122 year on year to 4,588, and the average active unit price rose ¥174 year on year to ¥4,230, showing improvement in both volume and unit price. The full-year earnings forecast was revised to revenue of ¥37,680 million and operating profit of ¥5,000 million. Separately, KJ003 Co., Ltd. acquired 29,761,258 shares of the company (a 55.89% ownership ratio), and delisting is planned.

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Sustained high level of staffing demand driven by the structural and chronic shortage of machinery/electrical engineers
• Continued increase in the number of active personnel (4,588 as of the end of Q3 FY2026 ending March 2026, up 122 from the same period of the prior year)
• Continued rise in staffing unit prices driven by labor shortages and inflation (¥4,230 at the end of Q3, up ¥174 from the same period of the prior year)
• Expansion in the number of listed companies and stabilization of earnings due to the change in Cognavi Shinsotsu's charging structure to a listing-fee basis
• Expansion to approximately 400,000 student members by the Indian subsidiary Cognavi India Private Limited and the launch of the WORK IN JAPAN business
• Expansion in the number of Cognavi College training participants (from 649 in the same period of the prior year to 991)

Risks

• Planned delisting following the completion of the tender offer by KJ003 Co., Ltd. (risk of changes in management structure and strategy)
• Downward pressure on ordinary profit and net profit due to the recording of non-operating expenses related to the tender offer (¥426 million recorded in the cumulative nine months of the current fiscal year)
• Risk of reduced capital expenditure by major clients (large manufacturers) due to concerns over an overseas economic slowdown and heightened geopolitical risk
• Continued difficulty in recruiting dispatched engineers due to the declining birthrate and waning interest in science and engineering fields (supply constraint risk)
• Changes in the competitive environment due to the rise of HR tech companies and revisions to the Worker Dispatching Act, among other factors