March 2026 fare increases and recovering inbound tourism lifted transportation earnings, while weaker investment security gains and higher extraordinary losses pushed net profit down 13.6%; full-year guidance was unchanged.
JR East reported stronger core earnings for April-June 2026 as its first railway fare hike since privatization and recovering passenger demand, including inbound tourism, lifted revenue. First-quarter operating profit rose 9.4% year on year to ¥125.5 billion and operating revenue increased 8.0% to a record ¥772.7 billion, while recurring profit climbed 8.0% to ¥106.9 billion. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 13.6% to ¥68 billion because gains from investment securities sales dropped to ¥6.5 billion from ¥22.2 billion a year earlier and extraordinary losses increased. Transportation led the quarter, with segment operating profit up 23.6% to ¥83.8 billion, while retail and services and the other segment, including IT and Suica, also advanced. Real estate and hotels was the main weak spot, with operating profit falling 32.7% to ¥19.1 billion as higher costs weighed on earnings. JR East kept its full-year forecast unchanged, including operating revenue of ¥3.29 trillion, operating profit of ¥429 billion, net profit of ¥255 billion and an annual dividend of ¥84 per share.