I would like to explain the outline of the financial results. The agenda is shown on the slide. First is on the consolidated financial results. This is the digest. Total G roup transactions continued to renew record high, 9% growth, JPY 2, 846.6 billion. Operating profit grew in both segment, 17% growth at JPY 30.8 billion, increased by JPY 4.4 billion. Segment retailing increased by JPY 1.4 billion. FinTech increased by JPY 2.9 billion. The ordinary profit, JPY 25.4 billion, and net income was JPY 16.8 billion. Both were record high. These are KPIs. Total Group transactions grew significantly. As mentioned, both operating profit and net income achieved record high. Non-operating gain, extraordinary P&L are shown. The non-operating expense increased due to interest rate hike, but the ordinary profit increased by JPY 2.3 billion. Net income was JPY 16.8 billion, increased by JPY 1.9 billion. These are revenue and operating profit by segment.
Both segments, the top and bottom lines increased, and on operating profit, steadily increased. Next is the waterfall of the operating profit. Retailing JPY +1.4 billion, FinTech JPY +5.2 billion, company-wide JPY 100 million. Excluding the securitization of receivables, operating profit increased by JPY 6.7 billion. The securitization was implemented ahead of schedule, so operating profit increased by JPY 4.4 billion. This is ordinary profit. In each segment, the operating profit increased, but the financial cost increased, so non-operating profit and loss was JPY -2.1 billion. The ordinary profit, excluding securitization impact, was JPY 27.7 billion, increased by 20%. Next is retailing. Breakdown of changes in operating profit. Tenant revenue, the attraction of tenant worked quite well. Event revenue was also strong, JPY 1.5 billion and JPY 400 million was the increase respectively. The utility cost increased by seven, and expense increased by JPY 700 million. So the underlying OP increased by JPY 1.6 billion to JPY 6.7 billion.
This is transaction. It grew YoY on 50 consecutive years. This is tenant revenue. The vacant area reduced, and the contribution was JPY 300 million. Percentage rent and fixed rent unit price contributed by JPY 600 million, and tenant revenue increased by JPY 1.5 billion. Next is FinTech. The operating profit revenue, thanks to merchant fee increase, and also the installment and revolving credit fee was increased last October, so it grew by JPY 12.2 billion. Expense side reward program impact subsided, and they increased by JPY 7 billion. As a result, it grew to JPY 30.6 billion, increased by JPY 5.2 billion. This is credit card transaction volume. Second quarter transaction was JPY 1 , 331.8 billion, record high quarter. Installment and revolving payment fee. The second quarter grew YoY by 107%. Fee revenue, thanks to revision of fee rates, JPY 39.1 billion, increased by 24%. And this is credit loss.
In the first half, JPY 11.2 billion was credit loss, and the ratio was 1.0% after a fee rate revision, and this is trending stably. Next is new cardholders. New cardholders, the contribution was the increase of card for the cards that support interest, and 440,000 increase. This is business that does not use balance sheet. The rent guarantee expanding steadily, and first time it grew to JPY 11.9 billion. We will further focus on this. Next is balance sheet and capital allocation. The balance sheet status. Total asset, thanks to increase of operating receivables, it increased by JPY 65.4 billion to JPY 1, 206.7 billion. Interest-bearing debt, excluding zero-coupon CB issued in August, it was JPY 770.2 billion, increased by JPY 54 billion. We conducted share buyback. Equity ratio declined by 2.2% to 19.2%. This is the outline of Euro-Yen CB issued.
We conducted zero-coupon funding, conversion restrictions, and cash settlement call provisions were given. This scheme highly suppresses the dilution of equity. We conducted JPY 15 billion share buyback at the same time, considering the supply and demand. The financial cost reduction impact this term is JPY 100 million. Next year onward, JPY 700 million every year. This is capital allocation out of core operating cash flow of JPY 27.9 billion. JPY 20.2 billion is for growth, and capital optimization and shareholder return. The growth, JPY 5.4 billion, shareholder return, JPY 14.8 billion, and share buyback, JPY 15 billion. Human capital investment, JPY 6 billion, 33% of the personnel cost. Next is ESG. We are making progress towards 100% renewables four years earlier than the plan. 100% renewable ratio is likely to be achieved. Three years ago, at the time of Ukraine crisis, the electricity bill rose by 35%, including tenants' burden.
This time, we expect the increase to be suppressed to 10% or so. Outlook of March 2027. First is the revision of the outlook following the first quarter. In the first half, the business performance was strong in both segments. In both segments, we raised the OP forecast by JPY 500 million each. Consolidated OP forecast will be revised upward by JPY 1 billion. Policy rate hike is likely to be earlier, so we will maintain ordinary profit and net income guidance unchanged. This is retailing outlook. Tenant revenue increase JPY 800 million, and also the store fit-out business profit outperform the full year OP is likely to be JPY 12.5 billion. FinTech full year forecast. The full year OP will be JPY 51.5 billion, JPY 500 million above the plan. Based on these factors, we will make upward revision of consolidated OP to JPY 56.5 billion. This is ordinary profit.
The rate hike will likely to be faster, so the financial cost will rise by JPY 1 billion. On the other hand, OP will rise by JPY 1 billion. On net basis, the ordinary profit guidance is JPY 44 billion unchanged. The share buyback was conducted through CB issuance. EPS will be JPY 167.7, JPY +3.7. ROE + 0.5%, 12.3%. Next, I will explain the new lease accounting. In addition to balance sheet, the impact of PL is being asked about. Lease account, as shown on the left, the simplified lease asset recognition method exist. On the other hand, the year one accounting handling will need. There is a more accurate way to reflect the reality. In order to reflect the reality more accurately, we are to adopt this method, our property for lease.
There are many properties with a long duration since the start of the contract, and the rent expense will likely to decline. Details will be explained in the next year's financial briefing. Lastly, on the information security, as released on November 2nd, our third-party service provider received an unauthorized access that is related to the digital corporate bond issuance, and part of the personal information of the customers leaked. We deeply apologize for that. There is no leak of credit card information and not from our company's system. We have made necessary communication and strengthened further control. There is also leak continuing on card-related information from other companies. We are communicating necessary process through statements, apps, and online menu. At EPOS Card, going back 61 days since the occurrence of the unauthorized access, we compensate for the damage, and we will strengthen the communication to people with concerns.
Transaction by transaction, it is possible for the users to set the notification through app and email. Also, we offer virtual card free of charge. We will strengthen our communication so that the customers can feel secure in doing shopping using EPOS Card. Next, Mr. Aoi, Representative Director and President, will explain our future direction.
Thank you. This is Aoi. I am going to explain the future direction. The topics are, one, adapting to a world with positive interest rates, and two, progress in our business initiatives to support customers' interests. First, adapting to a world with positive interest rates. As the zero interest rate policy has been lifted and rates rise gradually, we have received the following concerns from our shareholders and investors. MARUI GROUP has achieved profit growth by expanding its operating receivables in a world without interest rates. However, in a world with positive rates, could the interest expenses associated with these receivables become a burden and slow the growth? To address, I would like to explain the structure of our FinTech business and how we intend to adapt to a world with positive rates.
Through this explanation, we hope to alleviate these concerns. Our response to a world with positive interest rates consists of three initiatives. One, further revisions to installment and revolving payment fee rates. Two, expansion of businesses that do not rely on balance sheet. Three, development of financing methods unique to MARUI GROUP . I will focus on the first two. Over the 12 years from FY 2014 to FY 2026, our FinTech business has achieved strong growth with operating receivables increasing 2.8-fold and operating profits tripling, representing an annual growth rate by about 10%. Meanwhile, the policy interest rate has been raised gradually since FY 2024, and there is now a growing possibility it will reach 2% by FY 2028, exceeding the 1% assumed in our current midterm management plan. To address, we will first implement revisions to our installment and revolving payment fee rates.
We already raised the rates from 15% to 18% last October. This time, we are considering a further increase to 19.8%. We deeply regret having to place an additional burden on our customers. However, interest rates effectively equivalent to procurement costs for us, a financial services provider, have risen more than anticipated. We therefore believe a further revision is unavoidable. As we have not yet notified our customers, the exact timing has not been determined. However, we plan to implement the revision during FY 2028. Let me explain the impact of the fee rate revisions using our balance sheet. First, our operating receivables amount to about JPY 780 billion, almost all of which are financed through interest-bearing debt. Let me explain the breakdown of our operating receivables. Installment revolving account for 46%, single payments 40%, and cash advances 14%.
Of these, only the fee rate for installment and revolving can be raised in response to higher funding costs. A distinctive feature of our business is installment and revolving payments accounting for nearly half of our operating receivables. In industry, this proportion is generally said to range from about 10%- 30%, so our figure is significantly higher than the industry norm. This distinctive feature of our business works to our advantage in addressing rising interest rates. Since rising rates affect all of our interest-bearing debt, the increase in funding costs is equivalent to 2%. On the other hand, the impact of the fee rate increases is 2.2%, calculated by multiplying the 4.8 percentage point increase in fee rates by the 46% share of installment and revolving. However, there are also concerns regarding the increase in fee rates. One is whether it could lead to decline in customer usage.
Another is whether it could result in an increase in credit losses. First, let me explain how our customers use installment and revolving. Comparing FY 2015 with 2026, the use of revolving payments has remained largely flat. Meanwhile, installment payments have continued to increase since the introduction of convert to installments later service in 2017, accounting for 70% of total installment and revolving usage in FY 2026. Although we refer to these two payment methods collectively as installment and revolving, the reality is the vast majority of usage comes from installment payments. Why have installment continued to grow steadily? One reason lies in the distinctive characteristics of EPOS Card's membership base. 47% of our cardholders are in their 30s or younger, meaning that younger customers account for nearly half of our membership.
Customers in these younger age groups experience many major life events, such as starting a career, getting married, or moving to a new home, which often involve substantial one-time expenses. So, what happens in these situations? Let me illustrate this with the example of Customer A, an office worker in their 20s. Customer A incurred substantial expenses when moving to a new home last month and is now worried about making this month's payment. Their bank account balance is also running low. Just then, they receive a notification through the EPOS app about our convert to installments later service. By using this to switch to installment payments, they are able to adjust their monthly payments. Now it looks like they will be able to get through this month.
I believe many young customers can relate to this situation, as they often face various expenses associated with travel, weddings, concerts featuring their favorite artists, and so on. The use of our installment payment service has been growing because the convenience in managing such expenses meets their customers' needs. When we revised our fee rates last October, the utilization rate for installment and revolving did not decline. We believe this is because the convenience I have just described outweighs the additional financial burden customers may feel from the higher fee rates. We therefore expect the impact of the further rate revision on customer usage to be limited. Next, the impact on credit losses. As I explained in chapter one, the credit loss rate has remained at about the same level YoY, even after the fee rate revision in October 2025.
We therefore expect the impact of the further revision on credit losses to be limited as well. Based on these factors, let me explain our midterm profit outlook for the FinTech business. Before the COVID-19 pandemic in a world without interest rates, our FinTech business consistently increased its operating profit by about JPY 4 billion annually. However, as we entered a world with positive interest rates, we experienced our first dip in profit in FY 2025 due to the impact of rising rates. In fiscal year 2026, however, the revision of installment and revolving payment fee rates reversed this trend, resulting in a peak in profit growth. Looking ahead, we expect to experience a second dip in FY 2028 due to the rapid pace of interest rate rise.
After that, however, the benefits of the further fee rate revision are expected to take effect, allowing us to return to our normal growth trajectory. Toward FY 2031, we expect annual profit growth to return to about JPY 5 billion. We expect to come back to the world without interest rates. Next, the expansion of business that do not rely on balance sheet. In FY 2008, cash advances accounted for 80% of our FinTech revenue, while revenue from businesses that do not rely on our balance sheet represented just 3%. By FY 2026, however, this share had increased to 16%, led by rent guarantees at 11%, together with insurance and other businesses. Furthermore, as I explained in chapter one, revenue from our rent guarantee business exceeded that from cash advances for the first time in the second quarter.
Going forward, to strengthen our resiliency in the world with positive interest rates, we will further expand businesses that do not rely on balance sheet, aiming to increase their share of FinTech revenue to about 20% by FY 2031. We are pleased to announce that we have recently established a partnership with Daito Kentaku Partners, the industry leader in our core rent guarantee business. Going forward, we continue to expand our revenue through partnerships, the major companies, aiming to achieve revenue of over JPY 40 billion by FY 2031. In addition, we will expand into the bank loan guarantee business. We have recently established partnerships with Nishi-Nippon City Bank, in the Kyushu region, and ORIX Bank, in the online banking sector.
By building a revenue structure well-suited to a world with positive interest rates like this, we intend to navigate these changes in the business environment with resilience and achieve our KPI for FY 2031. As for the third initiative, we are currently working intensively on its development, and we will provide further details once our plans have been finalized. Next, the progress of our business initiatives aimed at supporting our customers' interests. First, our retail. It continues to perform well, and we expect operating profit to reach JPY 12.5 billion in FY 2027. The strong performance of our retail business is driven by growth in tenant retail income and our business units that support customers' interests. First, the tenant rental income. Until now, we have improved tenant rental income by reducing unoccupied floor space.
The proportion of unoccupied floor space has now declined from a peak of 12% to 5% most recently, marking the completion of our efforts to reduce vacancies. In the second phase of our transition to fixed-term lease agreements, we leverage our expertise to further increase revenue by enhancing the value of our properties and expanding turnover-based rental income. We are pleased to report that customer visits to our existing stores have reached 180 million, while transaction volume has risen to JPY 290 billion, both exceeding pre-COVID-19 levels. Going forward, we will further enhance the value of our properties by reflecting improvements in our value in these terms. When we first began shifting to fixed-term lease agreements, we lacked sufficient expertise, so we took a conservative approach, setting the proportion of fixed rental income at a relatively high level of about 90%.
For reference, turnover-based rental income is set to account for about 30%-40% of total rental income at urban shopping centers and station buildings. We therefore aim to increase our own proportion to over 30% by FY 2031. By FY 2031, we expect to generate an additional JPY 2 billion in revenue through value enhancement and JPY 6 billion through the expansion of turnover-based rental income. Next are business units that support customers' interests by leveraging our retail expertise and integrating events, merchandise, and credit cards. We will support our customers pursuing what they like. Our events that support customers' interest. Credit card membership, new credit card membership acquired through these events also grew steadily, rising 38%. Among events, experiential ones featuring exhibitions and other content related to popular works continue significantly more to both sales and credit card membership growth.
To further enhance the quality of customer experience, we will develop dedicated event spaces equipped with lighting, video, and sound system, and so on. Our large dedicated event spaces, such as the one on the eighth floor of Yurakucho Marui, are already fully booked for the next 18 months. In response to this strong demand, we plan to expand the number of experiential event spaces from the current 14 to 38 by FY 2031. We will expand our experiential event spaces under the name SUKI PLACE, opening locations beyond MARUI stores as well. Our first SUKI PLACE location will open in the Umeda area of Osaka on the 24th of this month. Going forward, we will roll out SUKI PLACE in major cities across Japan, starting with the Nagoya area, where we plan to open a location next year. Next is merchandise that supports our customers' interest.
For FY 2027, we expect merchandise sales from these events to reach JPY 15.5 billion, primarily from sourced products, with JPY 1.2 billion coming from merchandise developed in-house. By FY 2031, we aim to increase total merchandise sales to JPY 30 billion, including JPY 12 billion from our original merchandise. Next, FinTech. While growth in new card memberships across the credit card industry has stagnated, with the number of new members finally falling below the previous year's level last year, EPOS Card has continued to achieve steady growth. The key drivers of this growth are our strength in face-to-face customer engagement at physical stores at our credit cards designed to support customers' interests. The credit card industry has traditionally driven growth in new memberships primarily through online channels, but we too are seeing sluggish growth in the new membership acquisition through the internet.
Against this backdrop, in-store member acquisition is proving to be a new strength. Our credit cards have increased significantly, rising 38% to 82,000. As of the end of September, the number of members holding our credit cards designed to support customers' interests increased from 1.26 million to 1.53 million. Furthermore, younger members account for 59% of these cardholders, exceeding the 47% share of young members across the overall EPOS Card membership base. Furthermore, through the customers' interest support credit cards, we aim to achieve both positive social impact and profit as well. A major step toward achieving this goal has been the launch of our collaboration credit cards with global artists TREASURE and BABYMONSTER. Initially, the representatives were cautious about collaborating with us. However, when we expanded our concept of a credit card enabling cardholders to donate for social causes, they strongly resonated with the idea.
With these cards, customers can continue to donate through their card usage, will receive exclusive videos from the artists expressing their appreciation from time to time. In this way, we will provide an experience that customers, the combined joy of being a fan with the opportunities to contribute to society. Going forward, by expanding these collaborations, we aim to increase the cardholders of our interest-supporting credit card to 3 million, the number of participants in support and donation initiatives to 1 million. Finally, let me summarize. In our FinTech business, we will establish a new revenue structure to achieve further growth in a world with positive interest rates. In our retail business, we will pursue further growth by expanding turnover-based rental income, enhancing the value of our properties, and growing our business units supporting customers' interests.
We will also explain our strategy for supporting customers' interests through the integration of our retail and FinTech businesses at our financial results briefing. That concludes my presentation. Thank you very much for your attention.
We will now move on to the Q&A session. Thank you for waiting. We will now take our first question. Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, Takemura-san.
I'm Takemura from Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities. Thank you. I have two questions. First question is related to slide page 50. The rate for the installment and revolving credit is raised. I would like to ask about this first. I would like to confirm some basics. The installment and revolving credit rate, this is a commission, so it's not under the interest rate cap of the Money Lending Business Act, but rather it's possible to raise continuously. So this time, 1.9 percentage point was raised, and the revolving balance of JPY 400 billion will be the scope. Is my understanding correct? That is my first question. My second question, similarly. I think frequently asked a question on the new lease accounting.
I would like to ask about how we shall understand slide page 37 is where you explained on this. Basically, currently the red dotted line is the rent that is being paid, but going back to the past, there are areas where a higher rent was being paid. In such a case, the paid rent, how much expense will decline. You said that you are going to explain that next year. My understanding is that for the expense that was paid in the past will also increase. Basically, net asset will go down and ROE will be pushed up. Is that what is going to happen on surface? What would be the impact, any significant impact, or is the impact minor. If you could give us some color on those points. That is all.
On the first question, I will reply. As you mentioned, the revolving and installment credit, there is no statutory cap for cash advance. There is no such restriction, but there are voluntary regulation in the industry, and the cap is 20%, and each company is raising up to 20%. That is an annual rate. So 19.8% in reality will be the maximum, and we are considering or scheduling to raise to that level.
Thank you very much.
On lease accounting and some additional comment related to that, the fee for installment and revolving credit, there is a basic guideline from the METI being issued. So in reality, we understand that the maximum rate will be 20% in reality. On lease accounting, as Takemura-san pointed out, the schedule, there is a triangle where the interest expense is higher, and we are planning to adjust it using the surplus profit.
As a result, equity will decrease, and also the expense will decline, and the difference in surplus profits will be reduced over time. The impact, the actual value is under calculation. So today, we would like to refrain from disclosing.
I understood quite well. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Next questioner. Mr. Takahashi from Mizuho Securities.
Takahashi from Mizuho Securities. Thank you for the clear explanation. I have two questions. The first one is a simple one for Kato-san. The full year operating profit has been adjusted. What was the upward of the revision or the adjustment for the first half, and have you also made revision for the latter half? Has there been any policy change that will impact the plan. The second question is for President Aoi. The figures are very clear. That was regarding your actual MARUI's event space and so forth. When you go to an event, every time you go, the types of people are different, and so many different people come and enjoy your events. Content, I believe, is very important.
I believe you have explained this over and over again, but in the past half year to year, I've been observing this trend. The content level of such events, I believe, has been increasing, including skills and so forth. I'm not sure if view is correct or not. However, within the industry, MARUI's efforts have been popularized, and maybe more people want MARUI to hold events like that. Is that correct? Or maybe internally, your expertise has been accumulated over the years. Is that what's making the trend? I'm sure there are lots of competitors, so what are the challenges that you're facing?
In response to your first question, allow me to respond. Retail and FinTech are different. The revision factors as for the retail, in the first half, the turnover-based rental income from events performed very strongly, and in the latter half, we have not forecasted yet. We have not finalized all the events yet, so we cannot make any concrete outlook. There is some discrepancy from the plan for that last half. FinTech also performed greatly, but as was explained, the partnerships with Daito Kentaku will increase our rent guarantee revenue. As for FinTech, we will have more impact by revising the last half plans. In response to your question number two, you mentioned that the level of content has been increasing.
Thank you for your compliment. That makes us happy. I also feel the same. The content level has been increasing as well, so we're happy about that. One of the representative illustrations is the global artist TREASURE and BABYMONSTER collaboration that we explained today. Internal or domestic artists, including credit cards, we've been collaborating with them. Also, including the credit cards, this was our first time to be able to collaborate with international artists, so that makes us very happy.
On top of that may overlap with what has been discussed already, but not just supporting customers' interests, but by doing so, we can also contribute to society or someone else. By doing so, we can also increase our impact as well as to increase our revenue. This credit card plays such important roles, and that has been taken very favorably and leading to the realization of such collaborations. Taking this as our stepping stone, we would like to also expand our social contributions through our credit card collaborations.
Why has the level of content increased?
We're very thankful. As Takahashi-san mentioned, the employees' levels have been increasing. That is one factor across the organization. As for something that they love, their interest, in terms of that, younger employees are playing a major role. Young employees that have entered the company about a few years ago, they're now playing a leading role, and by holding events and credit cards, and in teaming up with the veteran employees, they are achieving results with the younger generations leading the project or projects. Such projects are on the upward trend, and we call them Suki producers, credit cards supporting customers' interests or events that do the same. I think our talent that work on those is also increasing.
So, how can we differentiate ourselves from our competitors? Such productions are carried out by our younger generation employees, and I think that will be the greatest factor in differentiating ourselves from our competitors. From now on, not just the new hires from college graduates, but also including midterm career change personnel, we would like to launch such events with their lead.
Thank you very much. I would like to confirm if my understanding is correct. Such global artists have been collaborating with you, and in the backdrop is the credit cards supporting their customers' interests. That also contributes to society. That is what is making an environment where competitors are finding it hard to penetrate in the market. Is that correct?
Well, we're happy to hear your understanding, the way you understood it, because financial tools such as credit cards, financial products such as credit cards, in collaborating from such perspectives, the popular the artist is, more sensitive they are, not just themselves, but also their staff members as well. They're very sensitive in collaborating in terms of credit cards. Humanitarian causes, being able to contribute or donate to certain organizations, we explain to them that a credit card or credit card makes it possible. Then they feel assured, and brand also makes the brand value to be enhanced, and they understand that point, and they agree to collaborate with us. It's not like we are issuing our credit cards by way of popularity of their names. But it's a little different. We would like to have both the social impact as well as our revenue increase.
That philosophy is in the foundation of our projects, and they like our thinking like this.
Thank you very much. I understand very well.
Thank you very much. We would like to take the next question. Daiwa Securities, Shigeoka-san, please.
I'm Shigeoka from Daiwa Securities. Thank you for the presentation. I have two questions. First question is related to retailing. The retailing, the business progress is quite strong. The tenant and event revenue increase, how sustainable are they? If you could update on that. The monthly rent per tsubo is increasing. That is a large factor. Going forward, the percentage rent expansion and value enhancement is the growth potential going forward, and that is visible. If you could talk about more details along the science.
Thank you very much. We feel that there is a strong potential, as was explained. For 50 consecutive months on year-on-year basis, the transaction of existing stores grew, and this is linked to the improvement of attractiveness of facilities. If we use that for our negotiation, the new tenants' rent will increase to start with, and the facilities transaction will increase, so the percentage rent will also increase. So we can aim further higher level going forward.
Thank you very much. On regular basis, the rent revision or contract review will be conducted. So on continuous basis, you have visibility, and that makes up a large portion. Am I correct?
The fixed term period is roughly five years, and 20% of the entire contract is up for renewal every year. This time, up till now, the rent increase has been roughly 10%, and we expect that to continue going forward.
Thank you very much. Next question is on FinTech, the response to the interest rate hike. That was easy to understand. Related to short-term impact, the second half FinTech expense outlook on page 32, the details are shown. In the second half, the interest expense seems to rise. The non-transaction linked expense trend, the rent guarantee, I think, is also related. If you could update on the expense side.
Let me answer this question. As you have said, the rent guarantee out of the well, we expect the revenue increase going forward, and also non-transaction linked expense, we expect increase of JPY 2.2 billion. You are pointing out the system cost and sales promotion and administration cost. On system cost, in the second half, we expect one-time cost increase. One is an analysis security related, JPY 200 million. Another is server acquisition cost to be recognized in the second half. Lately, the prices of semiconductors are rising, so we are upfronting the investments. That is the reason for higher expenses.
Another is sales promotion and administration cost for card issuance. The trend was strong in the first half, so we would like to maintain this pace in the second half. So we have added additional JPY 200 million for the sales promotion cost.
Thank you very much. The rent guarantee, Daito Kentaku's partnership, through that partnership, in the second half, you expect the revenue increase, or from what point onward do you expect the contribution from this partnership? What is the scale and timeline?
From fourth quarter, both the sales and expense will be recognized from March. Moves will start to change, will start to increase, and it will start to increase from March. So, the full operation will start from the next fiscal year.
That is all. Thank you very much.
Next question. Mr. Sasaki from Nomura Securities, please.
My name is Sasaki from Nomura. Thank you for taking my questions. Two questions. The first one is regarding rent guarantee. The growth has been there, and also you're also expecting further expansion. There are many different companies, but why is your rent guarantee so competitive? The difference in your EPOS Card or credit or the scope of a guarantee or the relationship with the realtors, what is the source of your competitiveness? That is my first question.
My second question is, what was not explained this time, MARUI GROUP -like funding way, for example, something like EPOS wallet to be developed and through that, digital corporate bond to be issued to take care of or utilizing the points and so on and so forth. Is that what you're assuming or using EPOS points to be able to make the final payment? If possible, if you could elaborate on such ideas. Thank you very much.
Okay. In response to your first question regarding the rent guarantee, there aren't many companies that utilize credit cards for the rent guarantee. There are only a few, including ourselves. Utilizing credit card means for the landlords to receive payments beforehand. So, on the cash balance perspective, that works in favor of us. Also, because the guarantee is done through credit cards, credit means that the only authorized and acknowledged customers with the ability to pay is in the picture. So there is more credibility.
Yes. Thank you. My question number two.
Yes, in response to that. We do have such options as you illustrated. However, we're still in the study phase, so it's hard for us to give you specific answers. However, as for the corporate bonds issuance, connecting with our customers through the credit card, as credit card holders, we have solicited as limited opportunity, but this is only a study phase, so please stay tuned.
Understand. I understood very clearly. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
Moving on to the next question. Okasan Securities, Kanamori-san, please.
I'm Kanamori from Okasan. Can you hear my voice?
Yes, we can.
I just have one question related to FinTech. Mr. Takahashi asked a similar question. Kato-san, the first half at the time of first quarter, compared to your outlook at that time, the FinTech business outperformed. Am I correct? The second half outlook this time and the second to fourth quarter outlook announced in the first quarter, the cost associated to transaction-linked part, I think you are estimating it to be more heavy. Am I correct? Also excluding the securitization of the receivables, you expect the reduction of profit in the second half. So, the expense, your outlook is heavier than the first quarter guidance. Am I correct?
Thank you for your question. As I have said, FinTech, although it was progressing well in the first half, there's no major outperformance in the second half. The revenue increase, including the rent guarantee, will make up the large portion. The securitization, there is some interest rate hike as the gain on the sale through securitization would likely to decrease by JPY 500 million. As [Asahi] mentioned, non-transaction linked, we have some reserves factored in, and we may be able to reduce that part a little bit. The second half, the decline of the profit, the reason is that the installment and revolving credit rate revision of the cycle will end. So, that is the major point. Towards next fiscal year, we would like to improve those points.
Understood. Thank you very much.
Since there appear to be no further questions, we would like to conclude the Q&A session. This concludes the earnings briefing for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027.