LY Corporation

In today's briefing session, we have the participation of Mr. Takeshi Idezawa, President and Representative Director and CEO, Mr. Ryosuke Sakaue, Executive Corporate Officer and CFO, Mr. Yuki Ikehata, Executive Corporate Officer, Marketing Solutions Company CEO, And Mr. Makoto Hide, Executive Corporate Officer, Commerce Company CEO. First, Mr. Idezawa will explain the financial results for the second quarter of 2024. We will then conduct the Q&A session. This session is scheduled for one hour, and this session is also broadcast live. If there is a problem in the audio or video, please try another server from the bottom of the screen. We would like to start the session now. I'm Itazawa of Fine Yahoo Corporation. Thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to attend today's fiscal 2024 second quarter business results briefing. I will first provide a summary of the Q2 business results. Here's the highlight of the Q2 business results. First, I talk about business performance progress and revision of full-year guidance. Q2 results, entire group revenue was up 4.7%. percent YOY to 462.2 billion, and adjusted EBITDA was up 9.1 percent YOY to 112.6 billion yen. Both figures were record highs for the second quarter. And with this strong business results, guidance for adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS has been revised upwards. I will explain the details later. Second, group-wide issues are moving steadily toward resolution. It's expected that the company will meet the criteria for maintaining its listing on the prime market through share buyback and cancellation of treasury shares. Security measures are also progressing as planned. Third, product reinforcement. By enhancing official accounts and mini-apps, We will support DX and CX for companies and stores and reinforce monetization. And we'll increase commerce transaction values through line gift and line revamp. And we will accelerate the growth of financial business through service linkages with PayPay. Next page, please. I will explain in the order shown here. First, I'll explain the consolidated business results for the entire group. second quarter results shown here. Q2 results are progressing smoothly in line with guidance presented at the beginning of the fiscal year, and the progress rates have exceeded 50%. For the revenue, progress rate has not reached 50%, but the revenue will be larger in the second half, so this is within expectations. Fiscal 24 consolidated full-year guidance. Profit is progressing more smoothly than initially expected. As a result, we've revised upwards our full-year consolidated adjusted EBITDA forecast by 20 billion yen and adjusted EPS by 4.1 yen. And at the same time, we have also revised our adjusted EBITDA guidance for each segment. This is factors behind the revision of consolidated earnings guidance. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow more than initially planned in media business due to account ads and in the strategic business due to the consolidation of pay pay. Adjusted EPS is expected to improve mainly due to the improvement in adjusted EBITDA and the effect of stock buyback and cancellation of shares.

Next, please.

This is the entire group, performance trends, revenue, grew 4.7% YOY. Adjusted EBITDA grew by 9.1% YOY. Margins also remained at the high level.

Next page, please.

This is the entire group performance analysis. The main factor for higher profits was the increase in revenue. This was especially due to the growth in revenue from account advertising and the consolidation of PayPay. We also continue to make disciplined investments, and that has helped us to secure a profit increase. Next, share buyback and cancellation. We made share buyback worth approximately 150 billion yen, and at the end of September, we cancelled about 6.4% of the total number of shares issued. the tradable shares ratio is expected to exceed the 35% threshold for maintaining listing on the prime market. Of the 515 billion yen in the capital allocation policies buffer for additional investments and capital policy, 150 billion was used for the share buybacks. The remaining 365 billion will be used mainly for share buybacks and M&A. We will consider flexible capital allocation for this. Next, I talk about return to shareholders. In addition to the stable dividends, we've also been implementing flexible share buybacks as a return to shareholders. The cumulative total payout ratio over the five years from fiscal 20 was approximately 70%. Over the next five years, we aim to achieve cumulative payout ratio of over 70%, the same level as the past five years. Next, security measures. Security measures are steadily being implemented as planned. We expect this year's security countermeasures cost to be within the range of the initial forecast of about 15 billion yen. Q2 costs expected to be approximately 4 billion, and we expect the same level for the third and fourth quarters as well. From here, I will explain the performance of each segment. First about the media business performance trends. Account advertising grew faster than planned, resulting in increased revenue and profit. Margins also remained in the high 30% range, the same as in the first quarter. Next, media business revenue. Overall revenue in the media business increased by 4.2% year on year. account advertising grew at a high rate of 18% year-on-year. Search advertising increased by 2.1% year-on-year, helped by the halt in the decline in revenue from partner sites. Next, media business performance analysis. Although promotional expenses increased somewhat, the growth in revenue from account advertising exceeded this, driving profit growth. As a result, adjusted EBITDA increased 7.8% year-on-year. I've been saying that account advertising has been strong, so let me explain that separately. The impact of the fee plan revision for official accounts implemented in June last year, the impact of that has ended in the first quarter, but the number of paid accounts continue to increase steadily in the second quarter. In Thailand, the There was a revision to the fee plan, and that has led to increased number of paid accounts. Revenue growth was at a high rate of 18% year on year.

Commerce business performance trends.

Revenue was affected by the deconsolidation of subsidiaries such as Value Commerce and IPX. But shopping and travel grew, leading to increased revenue and profit. The margin also remained in the high teens. Next, commerce business transaction value. Thanks in part to the promotional measures of Yahoo! Travel and EQ, travel grew by more than 20% year-on-year. and drove expansion of transaction value. In the previous year, there was a revision of the hometown tax system, and there was last-minute demand, so demand fell as a reaction to this in this fiscal year. and affected Yahoo Shopping. However, excluding this impact, Yahoo Shopping transaction volume maintained the same growth rate as previous quarter with year-on-year growth of 8%. Next, commerce business performance. Despite the revenue decline from the deconsolidation of subsidiaries, revenue growth at Zozo Yahoo Shopping and reuse contributed to an overall increase in revenue. Adjusted EBITDA was up 9.2% year-on-year. Next. strategic business performance trends. Pay-pay consolidation continued to drive revenue and profit growth, and revenue increased by 16.8% YOY to 81.2 billion yen. Adjusted EBITDA was 15.3 billion yen, including the impact of some cost transfers between segments. Next page, please.

This is the strategic business revenue breakdown. All of the strategic businesses, which are mostly financial services, grew steadily. Peipei GMV grew. Peipei Card revolving payment balances grew, Peipei Bank's mortgage loan businesses performed well, and Line's fintech services grew steadily, and overseas, Taiwan's business is also growing. As a result, the revenue of strategic business grew 16.8 percent year on year. Next page, please. The strategic business performance analysis, despite the increase in point expenses, Profit increased thanks to sales growth of Peipei Consolidated and improved profitability from cost of control. This is Peipei Consolidated business overview out of strategic businesses. Peipei Consolidated GMV grew strongly by 23.8% Y on Y. As a result, Peipei's Consolidated sales grew 15.2%, YOY and consolidated EBITDA surpassed 10 billion yen for the first time for a quarter. Finally, I will explain the post-integration review of the first year after the merger and our future initiatives. This is the reflection on the first year, the reinforcement of profitability and enhancement of product development capabilities. These were the objectives we communicated at the time of the merger. We steadily accomplished these objectives. Profitability is improving. with profit levels remaining high, as shown in the EBTA level. To improve our product development capabilities, we increased agility and flexibility by introducing company system and other measures. Over the past year, we have been able to provide more than 100 new services, new features, functionality improvements. In particular, the number of introductions of generative AI services exceeded 20 in one year. For example, on Yahoo! Chiebukuro, the number of responses by AI exceeded 1.6 million in 10 months. There are multiple cases where we have received great support from users. From here, I will explain our future initiatives, strengthening of fintech business with three initiatives. They are official account, mini app, line commerce, and pay-pay finance. Next page, please. First, the acceleration of growth through line of show accounts and line mini apps. The line official accounts offer functions to deliver messages to users, manage customers and others. Companies in stores are using the service and. Revenue from account advertising exceeded 100 billion yen last fiscal year. On the other hand, LINE mini app offer services that enable customers to easily create and offer functions such as mobile orders, membership cards, and queuing. This was launched in 2020 as web applications that can be provided online. These are used as DX applications for mobile ordering, and others. And in the future, we will position the official accounts and mini apps as the core and evolve the service from a simple communication tool to a comprehensive DX tool for companies and merchants.

Next, please.

We have been adding various new for the official accounts and mini apps. The left is the case of further increasing the number of messages sent. This is from Sakawa Express. Sakawa Express uses a service called Line Notification Messages. Delivery date and time notifications are now possible even if the user has not added the official account as a friend. This led to the reduction of re-deliveries. New functions are also designed to expand the number of messages delivered and the reach. The right-hand side is an example of mini-app, example of Gushikatsu Tanaka. Reservations and mobile ordering functions online have been introduced. As a result, the number of reservations have increased, and man-hours spent or on phone reservations and order fulfillment have been reduced. We expect that the expanded use of these functions will contribute to solving the social issues of logistics and labor shortage. Through additional features such as DX solutions, we aim to further improve convenience. Next is as a way to strengthen commerce, we are strengthening line commerce. There are two. The domestic gift market is expanding and is projected to exceed 11 trillion yen in the year 2024. Line gifts, a service that utilizes line's social graph, has continued to grow at a high rate, growing nearly 30% Y on Y in FY 2023. We expect the same growth rate this year. In the future, we will work on measures to boost products, functions, and usage scenarios to further expand transaction value and convenience, aiming for continuous growth by more than 30% Y on Y every year in the next five years. The second measure is line commerce. Six months ago, I communicated this as well. We are planning for renewal of a line and we plan to add new shopping tab through the renewal. The shopping corner will be newly created under the tab that attracts the most traffic online and create a shopping platform designed to suit the purchasing behavior of line users and propose products according to seasons and trends and reinforce sales promotion through line official accounts. The third area is pay-pay financed. Before explaining this, let me review PayPay's growth to date. Since the service was launched, the number of registered PayPay users, the number of payments, and GMV has expanded rapidly and grown to become the number one code payment service in Japan. The growth of PayPay Card, the left-hand side shows the transaction value of PayPay Card. PayPay Card became a consolidated subsidiary of PayPay in October 2022. We have been working to unify the payment experience between apps and credit cards and have been promoting PayPay cards as the main card. As a result, a card transaction value has been expanding, and in FY 2023, it grew significantly by 30%. PayPay Bank launched a mini-app on PayPay on August 2022. The number of accounts via PayPay is steadily expanding. Since February of this year, PayPay's identity verification information can be linked, greatly simplifying the process of opening a bank account, and user convenience is also improving. In the financial services business, we will expand synergies centered on PayPay to further improve user convenience, increase revenue, and accelerate the growth of each financial services. Lastly, a summary. Business performance is progressing well, and the full year guidance for the current fiscal year is revised upward by 20 billion yen for adjusted EBDA and by 4.1 yen for adjusted EPS. Security measures, which had been a company-wide concern, and efforts to comply with the prime standards are making good progress. As a first step towards future growth, we will strongly drive forward each initiative such as strengthening our official accounts, mini apps, line commerce, and pay-pay finance to expand our business and our services. This is all for my explanation on the second quarter financial results. Thank you very much for your kind attention.

We will now have a Q&A. If you have a question, please use the raise function when your name is called. Please ask your questions. Once again, those who would like to ask a question, please use the raise hand function in Zoom. When it's your turn and your name is called, please ask your question. Ask that you limit yourself to two questions at a time and ask both of your questions together.

So let's start. Let's have questions.

Thank you.

Two questions, please.

First,

Your payout ratio cumulative 70% is what you indicated. It has made things very clear.

Looking at the past results, based on that, have you set 70% at the same level?

Did you consider the 365 billion buffer and you said that 70% is appropriate? So, The 70%, how did you arrive at this number? Please explain the background and also talk about the growth investments and the necessary expenses and the balance with a return or payout. Could you explain? That's the first question.

I should ask both questions at the same time?

Yes, please.

Second question.

You talked about new products like mini apps.

Renewal or revamp has led to acceleration of these things?

Or is it just steadily growing? So nine mini apps chat as a core that are going to really drive growth in the future. Is that the message that you've tried to indicate there. So I'd like a clarification there.

Thank you for the questions.

So about the payout ratio, Sakai will explain later about the mini-apps. I'd like to talk about the current situation of them first. So utilization use cases increasing, and the types of services increasing, and number of merchants that use them are increasing.

So we want to further accelerate this. And another major change that is on the platform side, there's been some change in the regulation.

And so to some extent, it's become possible to offer these kinds of services. So going forward, I think we're entering a phase for full-fledged expansion. So 2020 and onwards, we have steadily increased. So we see that growth. And there's also the environment change in the market. And that has prompted us to talk about the strengthening of this area. About the dividend, Sakai will explain, and Ikehata may have additional comments about the mini-up. First, Sakai Ue will respond to the total payout ratio. About dividends, it's fixed, so that's the assumption. And about the capital buffer, for a certain part of that that is used for share buybacks. And so we calculate all of that.

And so there'll be ups and downs.

So we talk about five-year cumulative average. So 70% and more is what we would definitely like to achieve in terms of cumulative payout ratio. And so that is how the background works. against which we have shown these kinds of numbers. And, of course, we will disclose additional information on a timely basis. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Next question. Okumura-san from Okasan Securities. Please unmute and raise your question. Thank you. I'm Okumura. Can you hear my voice? Yes, we can. Please go ahead. Thank you. I have two questions. First, during the past year, you worked on LIB Premium and Yahoo Japan app. I have several points I would like to reconfirm. For LOI premium, on QonQ basis, the number of members is declining slightly. In Yahoo Japan app, The renewal was done, but display ad revenue is declining. Why on why? And there's a Q on Q decline of the number of login IDs. Was there a special factor in the background? Is there something is happening that the company did not expect? And in the future, How do you see the change in the trend? That is the first point. The second point, the official account mini app, you're going to expand. And if you could talk about the potential, the EC and game and video are to be provided anew. And in terms of monetization, do you have any rate or other indications that you can disclose? Company side, you explained the benefit on the company side, but from the user perspective, generally speaking, many app UI may be inferior to other apps. Your product, compared to direct usage, The user's UI and UX, how does it differ? What is the benefit on the user side to use many apps? That is my second question.

Let me reply first.

This is a very important initiative, and we are working on strengthening the functionalities. Frankly speaking, the numbers did not meet my expectations. That is my frank observation. The benefit on functionalities would be very important, especially lines of functional benefit profile or profile or stage a function those have high user needs so including e-commerce, comprehensive benefits are to be strengthened for the customers. So we are revamping. The renewal of RAFU Japan is progressing according to the plan.

For this, the second

point real-time the second tab on the real-time information would be the key we are to further polish and make it sophisticated the second point on mini app I would like to ask Ikehata-san to add some more. The user side benefit, there are many apps out there. The number of apps is increasing. And many apps can be added. casually and easily by the merchant side, store side, and that is the benefit. As pointed out, in terms of the interface, the level of seamlessness may be lower compared to regular applications, so we intend, we plan to strengthen that part and take measures to improve. Ikehata-san, over to you. I will add some more explanation on mini app. The benefit on the user side, as was mentioned, on Line Yahoo platform, This application can be operated so when you make a purchase or take an action, you don't need to create a new ID or you don't need to log in and you don't need to download additional app. That seamlessness and convenience would be the major benefit that we can provide. For UI and UX, as pointed out, we intend to continue to strengthen. That's already included in the plan. So we will strengthen that. That will be the assumption. On mini-app, the development UI or guideline is provided by the platform so that the business owners can release many apps easier and as service experience the sophisticated unified design can be realized and We intend to strengthen such support. Technology support will also be provided, so UX support will also be provided. In the future, to a variety of business owners, merchants, we will be providing this app. mini app service. So it is important that we provide an environment that is easy to use. That is all from myself. I would like to ask additional question. Yahoo Japan compared to three months ago, there's a positive change on the traffic. Is there any advertising being inserted? Any additional comment on that? Session is changing on positive manner. the entire advertising revenue is not increased in a significant manner through that. Thank you very much. That's it for myself.

Thank you. Thank you. SBI Securities.

Hosui-san, please unmute and ask.

Thank you.

Hosui from SBI Securities. Two questions.

First, the consultation was progressing faster than expected. What's the factor behind that?

You've had the relations and the cost reductions. How was this accelerated? New measures were effective? And then next term, what will be the outlook? I think there is a further room for improvement in efficiency. So talk about that, please. That's the first question. Second question is about the payback ratio. Past five years, there was some difference by year. And previously, you said that there will be difference by year. And so how do you make a decision about the payout ratio level for each year? I will answer both questions about the consolidated business results. Two reasons why that grew. One, as you mentioned, cost reduction progressed. and outsourcing and human resource cost, fixed cost was decreased, and acquisition cost was also reduced. That made the contribution in the MTU from Q2 that has started to grow again. That's been the top-line positive impact. Up until several quarters before, there was a minor point reaction, and so the growth rate was a little weak, but that effect has run its course, and the functions are getting better and better. And so MTU is increasing and monthly usage number is increasing. And so that has led to the payment transaction value. And PP card, that's also steadily growing. So revolving payment revenue is increasing. So that's the top line impact. So that's the second factor. that led to the large growth. So the first point, well, we really focused on the fixed cost within a pay-pay. Next year, it doesn't seem that there's going to be a huge impact from that, but the MTU expansion and revolving payment increasing That will continuously have an effect because that will continue to grow going forward. So next fiscal year onwards, I think we can grow the GMV and revenue and pay pay EBITDA and operating income will grow. I think we're entering that kind of a phase. To answer your second question about the payout ratio, that there is volatility year by year. In terms of stock buyback, we did this after consultation with the parent company, and it's difficult for us to make a decision all by ourselves.

Maybe there would be some M&A possibility.

We may prioritize that So for each year, it's difficult for us to control that. So we look at the average, and the more than 70% payout ratio is what we're aiming for. That's why we present it that way.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. From CLSA, Mr. Oliver Matthews, please unmute and state your question.

Hello, thank you. I have two questions. First question, could you explain a bit more about the e-commerce example you give in You talk about the new sales promotion link for line. Could you explain a bit more about the background and how this would work? And secondly, if you have any other points why the auction was a bit weak and what we should expect there. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I believe the question was about line gift and auction. It was online commerce. So Hide-san will reply to the question. This is Hide speaking. On the first question, as Hide-san mentioned, online, we will add a new shopping service, the product, Currently, we have Line Gift and we also do Yahoo Shopping. And the merchants on Yahoo Shopping and the sellers on Line Gift, among them using the current system, the product information is to be extracted and start to sell on this new shopping service online. This is a new corner, new service. So with this as a trigger, we are hoping that we can acquire new sellers to start to sell on LINE, LINE gift and Yahoo shopping sellers and also new sellers, new merchants. the information on the product will be enriched so that this shopping experience will be original. The second point is on the auction. In the short term, there are various factors. In the first half, at one point, the forex rate turned to the stronger yen. And on cross-border basis, there are a lot of buyers. And when the yen strengthens, the unit price goes up for the cross-border transactions. So due to forex impact, the overall result was softened, softer. And during the past three to four years, we have been providing two services, Yahoo Auction and free market. Right now, the user on free market is rising. When we compare to the unit price, the price for Yahoo auction is higher. And when those users shift to free market, then the overall unit price declines. So that is another factor in the medium to long term. reuse growth the overall growth of the market is starting to stabilize for reuse from 25 years ago we have been providing yahoo auction service and in the market more than 10 years ago mel curry came in And new reuse customers that did not come into the Yahoo auction started to come in thanks to the free market expansion. So for medium to long term, our initiative is a new reuse customer development. We will strengthen that development in free market and auction service. We are to add new services and new functions so that we can offer opportunities for new users to try. And through that, we would like to realize regrowth, go back to the growth track.

That's it. Okay. Thank you very much.

Yes, we hear you.

I have two questions. Toward the second half,

For media, the display ad and the search ad, can you give us some clues?

So search ads, so it will be in the lower single digit in the second half. I think that's what you said in the previous meeting. Is that the situation?

And so is the effect going to run its course next fiscal year? Account search, you said 15%, 20% growth, very strong. So display ad is low. So what's the outlook for the second half? And also margin, second half, is the improvement trend going to continue? I mean, that's what you're aiming for. But... Can we assume that is true for the media business? So revenue growth in the second half, give us some clues. Second question about the commerce. Shopping peak season is coming in the next quarter in December. What should be our image for GMV? I think travel is going to be strong, but what about shopping? What should be our expectation?

And for sales promotion expense, Q on Q, how much are you going to increase?

Give us some pointers, please. Thank you very much. In terms of investment budget, 9 billion has been secured, put in the budget. 470 billion, that's the upper limit guidance, but all the products are becoming newer. About 9 billion for sales promotion put in the budget, and so 460 billion upper limit in the guidance. So that's the background. So 9 billion, half and half go to LRP premium in the media or the commerce segment, Yahoo Shopping. So 9 billion, half and half go to those two. So that is what we're planning. So maybe ROI may not be sufficient. or there was a premium talk from if functionally not so attractive, then that sales promotion, we may decide not to do it. But that is the assumption that we have in the new guidance. That's the background upon which we made a new guidance. So that's the supplemental comment. And so in terms of ad revenue in the second half, we haven't changed the guidance. So sales revenue, in the lower single digit percentage. That outlook we have not changed. And as you say, Sato-san, for search ads, Q2, well, same level as Q2 in the second half. That's what we expect. For account search or account ads, The pricing has been, the effect of pricing change has run its course. So maybe 20 is difficult, but higher teams we are going to aim for. And the display adds year-on-year flat to going to a little bit negative. So in the second half, we expect the Q2 level basically for margin. The current margin we want to maintain or add on to that a little bit. Sorry for the long response. In the second one, Hide will answer. So this is Hide about Yahoo Shopping. third quarter, fourth quarter, second half image. So in the presentation, the two presentation back, we said that for the fiscal year, middle single digit to double digit growth is what we're going to aim for, is what we said. That hasn't changed. So in the first half, There was a hometown tax system impact, but excluding that, we had the growth close to 8% in Q2. Now, Q3 and Q4, for second half, we would like to make sure we grow within that range. On a monthly basis, on a quarterly basis, depending on how it was the previous year, there will be volatility. But over three months, over six months, So 105% to 110% will be the growth rate we'll be aiming for. About sales promotion expense, basically we will have a disciplined investment. So middle fiscal 2022 onwards, we have really constrained investment, and so we have modified to healthy investment.

That policy hasn't changed.

So against the GMV, a certain percentage will be put into the points. So in line with the GMV growth, we will maintain the same ratio.

for the marketing expense.

And so we're not thinking about any deterioration.

One additional question. If you look at next fiscal year, search in the middle of the single digit, is it going to come back to that after adjustment?

That's one.

And display as, what's your view about the next fiscal year?

Is it going to continue to be flat? Second half I answered, but for mid to long term, for next fiscal year, Ikehata will talk from a sales perspective. Ikehata here. Looking towards the fiscal, next fiscal year, for search ads, the partner site, volatility expectation not zero, but Line Yahoo, we expect steady growth. And commerce search, we have new products. Gradually, it's starting to have business impact, or we should start to see business impact. So as was mentioned, in terms of growth next fiscal year, YOY, lower single-digit. percentage is what we expect for the display. The mark there's a gap with the market growth rate. So we think that there is a big issue. And therefore. Yahoo Japan renewal and line renewal. And cross sectoral data utilization expansion. will be taken those mid to long term measures next well we'll start to see the impact of that next fiscal year and the year after that so we're working on those measures so if you look at it just next fiscal year currently it's negative but we're working to bring that back to positive territory so why why Lower single digit growth is what we're going to be aiming for. As for the accounts, we said that that's continuous. So the impact has run its course, but more than 10% growth, why or why, is what we would like to maintain. That is my response.

So next year, I have expectations for your measures. That's the only comment I can make. But we really want to see a comeback here.

So for me, yes, thank you. In any case, it's an important agenda, and we think that we are making efforts there. And so we should have results in the mid to long term. And so from next fiscal year in the display and area, you should be able to see the outcome. And so we're going to make efforts for that. That's very clear. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

From Nomura Securities, Mr. Masuno, please unmute and raise your question. Masuno-san from Nomura Securities, please unmute and raise your question.

The audio is not heard.

Could you please check your microphone?

Can you hear? Yes.

We can hear you now. Please raise your question. I have two questions. One is shareholder return. Let me reconfirm. Next fiscal year, three-year cash allocation will apply. So 310 billion remaining. If... nothing happens will be used for share buyback. I think that would be a rational expectation. If that is the case, the five-year period, including next fiscal year, five years are set. So if you implement the three-year plan in next fiscal year, then in the following year, the amount may be smaller. Personally speaking, I do not understand the reason why you don't do share buyback. The parent company may have an intention, but when the stock price is higher, then you can maintain. uh the you can sell but but on pro rata basis if you do it on pro rata basis you can maintain the liquidity can you once again talk about this plan the combination of the plan and second is the ebda adjusted ebda up for revision. The strategic business is revised upward and the others area was revised downward and how much of the of the results are. Switched to a different category and what about the paper? In fact, Sakaway will reply to the question. I understand your point.

2025 is the final year for capital allocation.

With regards to M&A, there's still possibility in next year. So it's a matter of how that turns out. And we need to comply with the standard of prime listing and also pro-rata base is one option and we need to consult with our parent company so nothing final I can tell you and five-year cumulative will be dependent on that and total shareholder return will be dependent on that and a five-year period will include uh next fiscal year so for now uh the uh plan for uh fi25 uh to create and finalize that plan is our priority and i intend to work on this together with the parent company your second point the guidance revision per segment segment breakdown strategic segment upward revision of 20.5 billion was made and Five billion was transferred to other segment. So 15 billion is strategic segment. And that was the upward revision. Pepe consolidated that breakdown. We do not disclose, but Pepe Bank and Line Credit are progressing well. And overall, in the strategic segment, the business is performing well. So overall, we are making upward revision. Naturally, in terms of the size of the profit, pay-based consolidated makes up a large portion. So the factor... uh of uh the upward revision uh main uh main factor uh would be the uh increase of the top line other adjustment uh 15.5 a downward revision and 5 billion uh shift of segment and uh the remaining 10.5 billion of downward revision what is the content of this Internal distribution impact is included, and that is roughly 8 billion. For this, our management accounting concept-wise for centrally allocated expenses, there we have drivers for allocation such as sales and headcount, and we allocate. Overall, the human resources, each segment was quite lean in terms of human resources, and there are parts that cannot be allocated to each segment, and that was booked under others. The more efficient the other segment becomes, it's like a paradox, but there will be others allocation for 8 to 7 billion. We regularly review the management accounting and the reserve or allowance is booked and that amounts to 2 billion. So that is the breakdown of the others. The 7 to 8 billion of internal distribution, that is linked to the upward revision of other segment or overall company adjustment is the 7 to 8 billion. The former is correct in each segment. There are costs charged from the company, and that part is declining. Understood. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

We'll take two more questions who have already raised their hands.

From City Group Securities, Tsuruo-san, please unmute and ask your question. Yes, please, two questions. Before that, you had solid results and upward revision. Thank you for that. First question, that would be page six, BPS guidance. So next fiscal year, 20 yen or higher EPS is what you're going to aim for. And thinking that you have done share buyback, you'll be able to achieve 20 without any change. But what realistically should we expect in terms of results? You've talked about some top line numbers, but can you go through that again? Second, about capital allocation. Capital allocation, sorry, this is comprised of two questions and I would accept a short answer. So what kind of acquisition are you planning? Corporate acquisition are you planning? What's in the pipeline? And 70% payout ratio over five years. That will be more than 100 billion yen buyback on average. So midterm plan is until next fiscal year. So you've extended the capital allocation five years. So if you can sort out the relationship amongst these things. So two major questions. Sakaoe will respond to both. So EPS for fiscal 25. So more than 20 yen is the current target. We've had share buyback. And next year's budget, we are just starting to have discussions about. So 20 yen plus. How much of a plus? We will show you in the fiscal 25 EPS guidance. So please wait for that. Second question about M&A. What we're focusing on is media and commerce strategies. So in the periphery, for the strategies that we're working on, We want to see a strong company that we can grow further and where we have competitiveness. But if we team up with some company, we can enhance our competitiveness further. We would be interested. So we're listing up the candidates and we're in negotiations with some. So Pepe, it's a small, but has will be thinking about the acquisition for functions that we deem lacking. So the five-year payout ratio and share buyback relationship. So what you mentioned, that could be a plan. I mean, so on average, you can calculate that way. We've done that internally. But for that as well, The fiscal 25 capital allocation results, we will look at that and then think about our path toward the 70% payout ratio. We will indicate that at that time. One follow-up for the first question. So 20 yen, can you achieve it? I mean, you're not going to loosen things because you can achieve that because the IRR is still lower than capital cost. So just give us the management's enthusiasm that you intend to work on that. Yes, no change there, as you point out. I mean, we're not going to be satisfied with 20 yen. We're not going to be complacent. We're not going to loosen up. We're going to aim higher. That will be our stance. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much.

B of A, security is Nagasan. Please unmute and raise your question. I'm Nakao of BOA Securities. Thank you for extending the time. I have two questions. First question, I'm sorry to have to repeat this in the briefing session material, page 9, capital allocation policy. I am aware that this is difficult to respond FY25 plan. additional investment buffer, you have 365 billion. Is it correct to understand that this will be dissolved towards next fiscal year, utilized towards next fiscal year? That is the first question. Second is on businesses. In the appendix, page 17, On quarterly basis, you have partner site search sales is 6.2 to 6.3 billion yen. It has stabilized and is it going to stay stable? If there's any risk factors, please let us know. And media display ad is weaker. And That is because you do not own social media, which is strong in video. So boom online is an area to strengthen for video and you have invested. So please update on this status.

Thank you for the question.

First question will be answered by Sakawa-san later on partner surface of search. and also video and boom we are devoting our efforts and this summer record high numbers were reached and this is back on the growth trajectory as you pointed out the user spending less time on a shorter on video so it there's a shift to shorter video and we do not have such platform and and that is a challenge that we need to overcome going forward and we are to put our effort in that area going forward This is Ekihata. On this perspective, let me add some more. The search partner site that you raised the question on, when we look at the future, it's very difficult to foresee on definitive way in the next two quarters. During the past two quarters, when I look at the progress, To a certain extent, the current ratio is maintained on continuous basis. However, The search ads is quite volatile, so we need to take that into consideration in implementing initiatives. On top of that, display ad gap with the competitors. Let me comment on that. As you pointed out, There are several measures that we need to implement in order to catch up with the average market growth. One big area is media service experience on social media or global platformers have video media and the user's time is shifting to video platforms. and many users are staying on such a platform. So a platform side can deepen the understanding of the users and optimize the ads, and the impact of the ad is improving. That is the situation. As was mentioned previously, social media feed type or VOOM platform type of video platform, the Line Yahoo platform renewal is being worked on. And from there, we are to capture data of the users with high resolution so that we can use such data to the existing ads. So that was my additional comment on the video and search ad. And on the first question on the capital allocation, This 365 billion yen share buyback and M&A, we will continue to try to invest in those areas, and we are working on coordination and investments. Thank you very much for your thorough reply.

Thank you for joining us. Idezawa will say the final concluding remark. We went over time, but thank you for staying with us to the end. And thank you for the active Q&A. And we will reflect that in our management going forward. And so it's been one year since the merger and we have made an upward revision. strong growth to be reestablished. That is very important, we think. So we like to solidly work to grow our business, as we explained, and for capital allocation, we will make sure to implement it in a strong way and toward the high goal. So we ask for continued cooperation. Thank you so much. With that, we would like to conclude Fiscal 24 Q2 Business Result Meeting of LY Corporation. Thank you for staying with us to the end.