(9085) Stock Price

Hokkaido Central Bus is a comprehensive transportation and tourism company operating scheduled bus routes and charter buses throughout Hokkaido, while also managing tourist facilities and rental properties. The company coordinates bus operations management, driver training, vehicle maintenance, and fuel procurement across its group, with passenger transportation as its core business.

Its primary customers are commuters and students in the region, tourists, and corporate and group charter users, with fare revenue serving as the main pillar of sales. In addition to fares, the company generates revenue from admission fees at tourist facilities, hotel and restaurant operations, rental property income, and retail sales at bus terminals. Revenue fluctuates based on seasonal and tourism demand.

The company's operations are divided into passenger vehicle transportation, construction, cleaning and security, real estate, tourism-related, and other businesses. Its passenger division handles scheduled routes and charter/travel services, while its tourism division includes ski resort and hotel operations along with tourist facilities. Other operations include public bathhouses, nursing care services, driving schools, and retail and insurance agency services, which are run in coordination with group companies.

The company leverages its 17-subsidiary group structure to strengthen its revenue base and enhance corporate value, with passenger transportation as its core business. As of the end of May 2025, it established a management reform headquarters positioned as a "second founding," setting medium to long-term goals for efficient asset utilization and improved operating profit margins on sales. Building on demand recovery following the pandemic downturn, the company aims for sustainable growth through stable cash flow generation and revenue diversification.

Priority investment areas include safety assurance and workforce recruitment in passenger transportation, and effective utilization of tourism-related facilities and real estate. Under its "respect for human life and safety first" principle, the company invests in crew training and vehicle maintenance while improving compensation and workplace conditions to secure and retain drivers. On the tourism front, it operates existing assets—including Niseko Annupuri International Ski Resort, Otaru Tengu Mountain, and Sunagawa Highway Oasis Hall—in coordinated fashion, differentiating itself through expanded facility operating revenues and rental income.

For new market development and business expansion, the company has clarified its strategy to pursue year-round tourism by capitalizing on inbound recovery tailwinds. Specifically, it will strengthen summer visitation at Niseko by operating hot spring accommodations and ski facilities as an integrated operation, while leveraging social media in Otaru to capture movie location effects. In cleaning, security, and construction services, it will pursue new property acquisitions and partnerships with municipalities. For regional public transportation sustainability, it will collaborate with municipalities while concentrating management resources on existing routes with strong demand prospects.

The company is advancing digitalization (DX) and ICT utilization to improve operational efficiency. Leveraging information and human resources as management assets, it aims to boost productivity through reservation and payment digitalization, vehicle telematics for fuel and maintenance management, optimized route planning, and remote training implementation. Through these technological initiatives, the company targets resilient business operations by addressing labor shortages and rising costs.