ENVALITH
株式会社ライズ・コンサルティング・グループ logo

Rise Consulting Group, Inc.

9168・Growth Market・Services

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株式会社ライズ・コンサルティング・グループ logo
Rise Consulting Group, Inc.9168

Business

Rise Consulting Group Co., Ltd. operates under the MISSION "PRODUCE NEXT – Co-creating a Happy Future Together," providing comprehensive consulting services across a wide range of industries and domains, including strategy formulation, business process reform, IT implementation, and DX promotion. Rather than simply submitting reports, the company is characterized by a hands-on, collaborative style that commits to fundamentally resolving client challenges through its proprietary four-pronged methodology: Hands-on Style, Scopeless, More than Reports, and Professionals. Founded in 2010, the company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in September 2023. It operates under the Consulting Business (Single Segment), with major clients including NTT DATA Corporation (33.8% of revenue for FY2025 (ended February 2025)).

Business Model

Revenue is determined by the product of three KPIs: number of consultants, utilization rate, and average unit price (monthly). In principle, staff at manager level and below operate under a one-consultant-per-client system, and a scheme is in place to immediately assign consultants to their next project upon completion of the current one, eliminating idle time. In FY2025 (ended February 2025), the utilization rate was maintained at 91% and the average unit price at ¥2.6 million per month. Utilization of external partners (the Partner Company Platform operated by subsidiary Rise Cross) supplements resource shortages and reduces opportunity losses. Thorough management of indirect costs has enabled a high operating margin.

Company Strengths

In FY2025 (ending February 2025), the utilization rate of consultants subject to staffing was 91% (92% in the previous period), and the average unit price was maintained at ¥2.6 million per month for two consecutive periods. Against revenue of ¥7,680 million, operating profit reached ¥1,958 million, achieving an operating profit margin of 25.5%. The one-consultant-per-client system and the specialized sales structure under the Business Development Department minimize idle time.

The company employs a One Pool system in which consultants are assigned regardless of industry or domain, together with Practices specialized in demand themes such as DX, GX, and healthcare. This allows consultants to acquire specialized knowledge while gaining diverse experience, building a unique organizational model that simultaneously enhances responsiveness to client needs and the efficiency of talent development.

In February 2023, the company concluded a capital and business alliance agreement with NTT DATA Corporation. In FY2025 (ending February 2025), sales to NTT DATA expanded significantly to ¥2,597 million (33.8% of revenue), up from ¥1,772 million (28.8%) in the previous period. The alliance with a major IT services company serves as an important foundation for expanding the scale of sales.

ENVALITH's Perspective

Revenue for the first quarter of FY2027 (ending February 2027) was ¥2,116 million (down 4.1% year-on-year), and operating profit was ¥240 million (down 51.3% year-on-year), marking a significant decline in profit. Against the full-year forecast (revenue of ¥10,000 million and operating profit of ¥946 million), the first-quarter progress rate stood at only 21.2% for revenue and 25.4% for operating profit, premising a rapid recovery over the remaining three quarters. The focus is on whether the impact on utilization from changes in personnel composition will be resolved.

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the first quarter were ¥936 million, up 35.8% from the same period of the previous year (¥690 million), absorbing nearly all of the gross profit (¥1,183 million). The main causes were increases in recruitment expenses and personnel costs associated with sales activities, and the time lag before the effects of upfront investment materialize as revenue expansion is significantly depressing the profit margin. The gap versus the operating profit margin target of 25-30% (for FY2030, ending February 2030) set out in the medium-term management plan remains large at this point, and the progress of investment recovery needs to be continuously monitored.

Goodwill arising from the LBO, at ¥5,120 million, accounts for 56.4% of total assets of ¥9,073 million, and impairment risk remains a potential financial concern. In addition, operating cash flow for the first quarter dropped sharply to ¥55 million (from ¥437 million in the same period of the previous year), failing to cover financing activity outflows of ¥766 million, which combined dividend payments of ¥501 million, treasury stock purchases of ¥128 million, and debt repayments of ¥133 million. As a result, the cash balance fell to ¥1,979 million (down ¥742 million from the end of the previous fiscal year). Attention should be paid to the financial buffer available should the recovery in profit be delayed.

Growth Strategy

A medium-term management plan built on two pillars: scale expansion through recruitment and sales force strengthening, and TAM expansion through AI and alliances

Optimizing personnel composition through active recruitment and rapid onboarding of consultants to improve project acquisition capability and utilization rates. In the first quarter of FY2027 (ending February 2027), changes in personnel composition affected utilization, making the completion of this optimization a prerequisite for earnings recovery.

Aiming to enhance existing services such as strategy formulation, business process reform, IT implementation, and DX promotion through the use of AI, thereby increasing added value and unit prices. NouScale, an AI-specialized subsidiary, was consolidated starting in the first quarter of FY2027 (ending February 2027), strengthening expertise in the AI consulting domain.

In addition to new customer development by the Business Development Department and resource expansion through the External Partner Utilization Service (Partner Company Platform), the company established Ricoh AI Consulting Co., Ltd. (an equity-method affiliate, with a 20% equity stake) in June 2026, jointly funded with Ricoh. By integrating the Ricoh Group's customer base and AI technology with its own consulting capabilities, the company aims to expand the TAM in the AI implementation support market.

The target is to achieve an average annual sales growth rate of 20–25% and an operating profit margin of 25–30% by FY2030 (ending February 2030). The operating profit margin in the first quarter of FY2027 (ending February 2027) remained at 11.3%, showing a wide gap from the target level. Recovering upfront investments and progressing on personnel composition optimization are key to achieving the medium- to long-term targets.

Last updated: July 17, 2026