Japanese media conglomerate SE Holdings & Incubations reported a sharp decline in profits for the first nine months of fiscal 2024, as higher costs and struggling business units weighed on performance.
Net income plunged 42.9% to 367 million yen ($2.5 million) in the April-December period, while revenue dipped 2% to 5.25 billion yen. Operating profit fell 39.2% to 586 million yen, the Tokyo-based company said.
The publishing division, which generates about 60% of total sales, saw profits sink 24.9% despite a 4% revenue increase. Rising production costs and weak online advertising offset gains in books and digital content.
The corporate services unit swung to a 40 million yen operating loss from a 59 million yen profit a year earlier, hurt by shrinking orders from existing clients. The software division also turned unprofitable due to lower engineer utilization and higher training expenses.
While maintaining its full-year forecast, SE Holdings faces mounting pressure from cost inflation and client spending cuts. The company expects net income to decline 14.4% to 625 million yen on slightly lower revenue of 7.3 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2025.
