Kao Corp Ord (KAOCF) Q1 2026 Earnings Call

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WEBVTT 00:00:00.031 -- 00:00:03.779 We would like to start with page 4, key highlights. 00:00:03.779 -- 00:00:08.950 2026 will be a year in which we further enhance our sustainable earning power 00:00:08.950 -- 00:00:13.340 and accelerate our transition to growth. We will increase the likelihood of achieving 00:00:13.340 -- 00:00:18.732 the K-27 while building the foundation for the step-change growth that lies 00:00:18.732 -- 00:00:20.732 beyond. 00:00:21.344 -- 00:00:26.633 In the first quarter, centered on the GC business, our profit-generating capabilities 00:00:26.633 -- 00:00:31.782 became firmly established both domestically and internationally, enabling us to 00:00:31.782 -- 00:00:35.449 further strengthen our earnings base. 00:00:35.449 -- 00:00:40.157 Net sales was 413.2 billion yen, up 2.5% 00:00:40.157 -- 00:00:45.483 on a like-for-like base, excluding the foreign exchange effects. 00:00:46.252 -- 00:00:52.732 Operating income was 44.9 billion yen, with an operating margin of 10.9%, 00:00:52.732 -- 00:00:59.024 up 14 billion yen year-on-year, and a significant improvement of 3.0% 00:00:59.030 -- 00:01:01.030 points. 00:01:04.004 -- 00:01:09.053 As a first step toward optimizing our logistics operations, we sold land 00:01:09.053 -- 00:01:12.719 and recorded the gain of 11.5 billion yen. 00:01:12.719 -- 00:01:17.768 However, even excluding this, we secured a steady profit growth, and 00:01:17.768 -- 00:01:23.173 we view this as improvement in organic growth. 00:01:26.161 -- 00:01:28.264 ROIC was a 10.1% 00:01:28.264 -- 00:01:31.969 and improvement of the 2.6 percentage point year on year. 00:01:31.969 -- 00:01:38.215 And the result are ROIC focused management are steadily becoming apparent. 00:01:39.600 -- 00:01:44.667 In the overseas GC business, sales in...