Askul Logs 6.6 B-Yen Net Loss for 2 Quarters Ended Nov.

Tokyo, Jan. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese office and household goods supplier Askul Corp. on Wednesday reported a consolidated net loss of 6.6 billion yen for the two quarters ended in November 2025. The red ink following a year-before profit of 3.7 billion yen came as the firm logged a special loss of 5.2 billion yen caused from a halt of its e-commerce business due to a system glitch from a cyberattack in October. Consolidated sales went down 12.3 pct from a year earlier to 208.7 billion yen. Operating loss stood at 2.9 billion yen, falling into the red from a profit of 6 billion yen. “This is a very tough result,” Tsuguhiro Tamai, Askul chief financial officer, said. Of the special loss, costs to maintain logistics systems and compensation for partner companies accounted for the biggest share. The firm has already found the causes of the glitch and finished taking related technical measures. Shipment capability has recovered to levels before the cyberattack. The company, however, skipped disclosure of its forecast earnings for the full fiscal year ending in May, saying it is difficult to foresee how much its performance will improve. Askul plans to regain profitability by conducting the largest-scale sales promotion in the firm’s history, including discounts for 500 items such as copy papers and bottles of mineral water. The company postponed the announcement of its earnings for the fiscal first half from its initial schedule of December because of the cyberattack-caused system outage. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]