CARTA HOLDINGS <3688> operates two businesses: "Digital Marketing Business," which supports digital marketing for advertising companies and clients, and provides DX support for media, and "Internet-Related Services Business," which operates services in areas like e-commerce and human resources, in addition to offering media and solutions. The company was created in January 2019 through the merger of VOYAGE GROUP and Cyber Communications. The background of the merger enables a comprehensive service structure that covers branding to promotional promotions and CRM in digital marketing, along with a strong ability to quickly launch new businesses, which gives the company a competitive advantage. It is also a consolidated subsidiary of Dentsu <4324>, and is promoting collaboration with the company.

For the cumulative consolidated results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending December 2024, revenue decreased by 1.2% year-on-year to 17,427 million yen, while operating profit increased by 391.7% year-on-year to 1,349 million yen. Although the Internet-related business performed well, the digital marketing business experienced a slight decrease in revenue. In terms of operating profit, the results were contributed by various cost reduction measures and the reorganization of existing businesses based on profitability. The collaboration with the Dentsu Group in the digital marketing business is currently progressing well. In fact, the handling volume of new collaborations for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending December 2024 grew by 45.8% year-on-year to 6,639 million yen, and plans to strengthen collaboration with the Group towards the end of the fiscal year are underway.

For the full-year consolidated financial estimates for the fiscal year ending December 2024, revenue is expected to decrease by 0.5% compared to the previous period to 24,000 million yen, while operating profit is estimated to increase by 53.7% to 2,000 million yen, with no changes since the upward revision in August. The progress rates for revenue and operating profit as of the end of the third quarter were 72.6% and 67.4%, respectively, and considering the upcoming busy season, the progress towards the financial estimates seems generally as expected. The outlook for the business environment surrounding the company is favorable. In this context, the company plans to continue promoting measures to improve profitability while pursuing growth in each business's performance. Regarding dividends, it plans to distribute 54.0 yen per share (expected dividend yield of 3.83%). The company aims for a DOE of 5% as a dividend policy, maintaining focus on capital efficiency and financial soundness while implementing stable shareholder returns. The acquisition of treasury stock within a certain range is also an option, and it is believed that stable shareholder returns will continue in the future.

In the medium term, the company aims to achieve growth in performance and enhance corporate value by further evolving its business and management based on sustainability management as a foundation. By refining the value provided to customers and simultaneously promoting the reorganization of businesses from a capital cost perspective, the goal is to return to a growth trajectory. In the third quarter of the fiscal year ending December 2024, the handling volume of reservation-type advertising in the digital marketing business expanded by 6.0% year-on-year to 8,582 million yen. The recovery trend of reservation-type advertising is also a positive factor for achieving financial estimates and further growth beyond that.