FRANCE BED HOLDINGS CO.,LTD.

Business Details

Engages in the manufacture, procurement, rental, retail, and wholesale of medical and nursing care beds and welfare equipment, as well as linen supply for hospitals, hotels, and other facilities. Main subsidiaries include France Bed Co., Ltd., Tsubasa Co., Ltd., Cashless Co., Ltd. (Cashidas Co., Ltd.), and Home Care Service Yamaguchi Co., Ltd. Against the backdrop of expanding home care demand as the baby boomer generation ages into the late-elderly bracket, the company continues to expand its rental contract base through increased bed rentals to lightly dependent users, customer base acquisitions, and IoT equipment sales. This core segment accounts for approximately 68% of Group sales.

Recent Overview

Sales grew steadily, but ordinary income declined 6.2% due to continued cost pressure from higher personnel and logistics expenses.

In the Medical Service business for FY2026 (ending March 2026), sales trended solidly at ¥41,830 million (up 3.2% year on year). This was driven by expansion of the contract base through customer acquisitions (including a large-scale contract transfer in June of the prior year), increased transactions with hospitals and elderly care facilities amid expanded subsidies, and expanded sales to hospitals in Vietnam. On the other hand, higher personnel costs from wage increases, rising logistics costs, and upfront investments to meet expanding demand (sales staff recruitment, vehicle fleet expansion, service center enhancement) were factors increasing expenses, resulting in a decline in ordinary income to ¥3,369 million (down 6.2% year on year). The Linen Supply business incurred temporary costs in the second quarter due to tight processing capacity, but profitability turned to an improving trend from the third quarter onward. Goodwill balance stood at ¥222 million at the end of FY2026 (ending March 2026), down from ¥457 million at the end of the prior fiscal year.

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Continued expansion of home care demand as the baby boomer generation ages into the late-elderly bracket (increase in population aged 75 and over)
• Expansion of the rental contract base through customer acquisitions (contract transfers from welfare equipment rental operators facing business succession issues)
• Increased sales of IoT equipment to hospitals and elderly care facilities amid expanded subsidies for care technology adoption
• DX promotion and labor productivity improvement through sales staff recruitment, delivery vehicle fleet expansion, service center efficiency improvements, and electronic contract documentation
• Continued focused investment under the medium-term management plan policy of "concentration and deepening of management resources in the silver business"
• Expanded sales to overseas hospitals including in Vietnam (capturing demand from modernization of medical infrastructure)
• Progress in future product development through AMED selection of the multifunctional nursing care bed (tentative name) with transfer assistance functionality

Risks

• Profit pressure from increased personnel costs due to wage increases and rising logistics costs (main cause of the 6.2% decline in ordinary income in FY2026, ending March 2026)
• Risk that upfront investments to meet expanding demand (sales staff recruitment, vehicle fleet expansion, service center development) become a short-term cost increase factor
• Risk of changes in the business environment due to revisions to the long-term care insurance system (changes in benefit scope and reimbursement rates)
• Risk of tight laundry processing capacity and temporary cost incurrence during surges in orders in the Linen Supply business (materialized in Q2 of FY2026, ending March 2026)
• Impairment risk related to the goodwill balance (¥222 million at the end of FY2026, ending March 2026)
• Risk of fixed cost increases related to strengthening operational systems and enhancing service center functions to expand rentals, primarily in urban areas