Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA(9629 TSE Prime)● SummaryIssued: 7/12/2024

Alpha-Win Capital Research Department
https://www.awincap.com/

Business Description
・ PCA CORPORATION (hereinafter, the “Company”) is an independent software manufacturer specialized inpackaged enterprise system software. It is a major specialized player in the industry.
・The Company was founded in 1980. Since then, it has been providing enterprise software mainly to small/mediumsized companies. The Company’s mission is to contribute to society as a “Management Support Company” that
supports companies in streamlining management and operation, with a focus on providing enterprise system softwarethat realizes high levels of automation.

Last Fiscal Year’s Financial Results and This Fiscal Year’s Forecast
・In the previous fiscal year (FY2024; note that the Company’s fiscal year is March-ending, i.e., FY2024 ended in
March 2024), the Company posted net sales of 15,018 million yen (+15.7% YoY), operating profit of 2,309 million
yen (+79.2% YoY), and profit attributable to owners of the parent (hereinafter, “net profit”) of 1,611 million yen(+82.5% YoY). The Company upwardly revised its financial forecast during the fiscal year, but its net sales exceeded
this revised plan by +168 million yen (+1.1% vs. plan).
・Compared to the plan, operating profit was 480 million yen greater (+26.2% vs. plan) and net profit also was 376
million yen greater (+30.4% vs. plan). These were due to a greater-than-expected improvement in the gross profit
margin and the SG&A expense ratio, which resulted in a rise in the operating profit margin. Dividends weresignificantly increased to 81 yen per share, compared to the initial plan of 17 yen and the revised plan of 62 yen.
・Alpha-Win Research Department had expected profits to be somewhat higher than the Company’s revised forecast,but the actual results were even greater. While sales were largely in line with our forecast, the improvement in profit
margins was more than expected. The main reason for the difference from the results is thought to be the decrease inprovision costs associated with the recalculation of retirement benefit obligations due to rising interest rates (caused
profits to increase by 170 million yen compared to the Company’s plan).
・Because of strong, new demand for cloud services, the number of corporate users of its cloud services has increased
steadily (from 21,022 at the end of FY2023 to 22,899 at the end of FY2024). Consequently, sales of the cloud services
increased by +25.4% YoY, driving the overall sales growth (contributed to 74% of the total increase in sales).
・The implementation of double-digit price revisions for all services and products in July 2023 is also considered tohave contributed significantly to the increase in sales and profits. The Company also benefited from the two major
law revisions (the new invoicing system and revised Electronic Books Preservation Act), but their contribution tosales growth is estimated to have been limited to a few hundred million yen.
・There were increases in costs such as labor costs, personnel expenses, and system usage fees, as well as R&D
expenses and subcontracting costs for the Hub series’ product development, but these were fully offset by the increasein sales.
・In each quarter, both sales and profits increased YoY. In Q4 of the fiscal year before the previous (FY2023), theCompany posted operating and ordinary losses due to greater strategic investments in development, but profit wasposted in Q4 of the previous fiscal year since the situation has normalized.
・The proportion of Company’s subscription businesses (maintenance & cloud services) has increased to 73.5% of net
sales (+2.0 percentage points YoY), which has increased the stability, continuity, and profitability of the Company’sbusiness.
・The Company has announced its forecasts for the current fiscal year (FY2025): net sales of 16,507 million yen (+9.9%
YoY), operating profit of 2,357 million yen (+2.1% YoY), and net profit of 1,656 million yen (+2.8% YoY). It
expects steady growth in the current fiscal year, especially for the cloud services, but also expects profit margins todeteriorate due to higher subcontracting costs and personnel expenses. Profit growth rate is therefore expected to be

1/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented in thisReport for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate, or fit
for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting from the use ofor reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual property of thisReport belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

modest compared to the sales growth rate. The Company plans to pay a dividend of 83 yen per share, an increase of
2 yen per share compared to the previous fiscal year.
・Like in FY2024, the Company is not disclosing its forecasts for the first half.

Alpha-Win Research Department’s Forecast of Financial Performance・Based on the Company’s forecast for the current fiscal year and interviews, we have reviewed our forecasts for thecurrent and the next fiscal year and added a new forecast for the fiscal year after the next, or FY2027. We haveupwardly revised our sales and profit forecasts for the current and the next fiscal year and expect the Company toincrease sales, profits, and dividends over the next three fiscal years.
・We have raised our forecasts for the current fiscal year (from our previous forecast to our current forecast) from15,800 million yen to 16,500 million yen for net sales (nearly the same amount as the Company’s forecast), from2,400 million yen to 2,500 million yen for operating profit (+143 million yen compared to the Company’s forecast),
and from 1,460 million yen to 1,700 million yen for net profit (+44 million yen compared to the Company’s forecast).
Since the Company has revised its dividend policy, we also raised our dividend forecast from 73.0 yen to 84.0 yen(+1 yen compared to the Company).
・The Company’s forecast of a nearly double-digit sales growth rate over the previous fiscal year seems somewhat
ambitious, given the termination of product sales (products sold by the parent company) and the associated decline
in the sales of maintenance service. However, we have made the same sales forecast as the Company, since the full
effect of the price hike made in the previous fiscal year (in July) will be seen in the current fiscal year, the cloudservices are remaining strong and maintaining a high growth rate, and continued growth is expected for the solutions
and others. Factors that may cause results to deviate from the forecast are the sales trend of PCA Hub series and its
costs, including development and subcontracting costs, as well as the business performance of the new businesses
including the acquired company Dreamhop.
・The Company’s profit forecast seems conservative. Therefore, we believe that the Company’s profit plan is fully
achievable, especially since the Company will likely be able to control costs to a certain extent.
・Assuming that the global economy will settle down and domestic companies will continue to perform well, we
predict that the Company will increase sales, profits, and dividends over the medium term as its cloud business grows,
the PCA Hub series contributes to its business performance, and the medium-term plan’s measures are implemented,
even while continuing to make upfront investments in the next fiscal year and beyond. We predict that the annual
profit growth rate over the medium to long term (on a normalized basis excluding any event-driven high demand)
will be 6-8%, with the cloud business continuing to support its growth.

Competitiveness・The Company has a customer base of approx. 240,000 companies. It has a high brand recognition and top-levelmarket share in accounting and finance software targeting small/medium-sized companies. It is especially taking alead as the top player in enterprise system cloud services in these fields.
・Its strength is its concentration of resources in its field of expertise as a specialist, enabling the development of
products and support services that meet various customer needs ahead of its competitors, including needs related tochanges in tax and other regulations. It also has a stable customer base and can provide high-quality products andservices at reasonable prices.

Business Strategy
・The Company is working on its medium-term management plan for the three years starting in FY2022. Numericaltargets for the final year or FY2025 (this fiscal year) are as follows: net sales of 15 billion yen or more (of which,subscription-based sales are 9.5 billion yen or more), consolidated operating profit of 2.5 billion yen or more(consolidated operating profit margin of 16% or more), ROE of 10% or more, DOE of 2.5%, and dividend payout
ratio of 30%. Based on the current fiscal year’s initial forecast made at the beginning of the fiscal year, net sales,
DOE, and dividend payout ratio are expected to exceed the medium-term targets, while operating profit (and margin)
and ROE are likely to fall short, whose improvement will be the next challenge.

2/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented in thisReport for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate, or fit
for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting from the use ofor reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual property of thisReport belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

・The PCA Group’s growth strategy is to provide total solution services centered on software. It is executing fourpriority measures (establishing a strong revenue base for the core businesses; creating new business opportunities;
strengthening monozukuri or the creation of things with a focus on safety, security, and anticipation of needs; andestablishing a highly profitable and sustainable management foundation). It has been proactively working on the
SDGs while expanding its subscription business, strengthening its product development capability, and meeting
digitalization needs.
・Its biggest challenges are to put onto track the new businesses that it has started (PCA Hub, PCA Subscription, hyper,and the healthcare business) and raise is profit margins as well as the return on invested capital.

Stock Characteristics and Price
・The Company is seen as a defensive, domestic-demand-oriented, and small-cap growth stock that is positively
impacted by the work-style reform and tax reforms, with anticipation of business growth and expansion in thesubscription businesses.
・However, the volatility of business performance and share price tends to increase before and after periods of eventdriven high demand.
・Over the past eight years, the Company has outperformed the TOPIX and its competitors. The share price has
especially soared after the Company announced changes to its capital and dividend policies (policy to strengthenshareholder returns) in January of this year, significantly outperforming the index and its competitors.
・The valuation of the Company’s stock based on the current fiscal year’s forecasts is somewhat high compared to theaverage of all stocks listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in terms of P/E and P/B.
However, the stock seems undervalued in terms of its dividend yield of 3.6%.
・The majority of its business is subscription-based, so its business is stable and has long-term viability. Also, thesubscription business still has a high growth potential, meaning that continued growth of sales and profit is anticipatedin the current fiscal year and beyond. Considering the expected growth in EPS and subsequent dividend hikes, we
believe that there is an upside to the share price over the medium to long term.
・For the time being, the share price and financial performance will likely be impacted by the quarterly trends inbusiness performance, growth rate of the cloud business, whether the new businesses will succeed (especially PCA
Subscription and PCA Hub), and whether there will be changes in the tax or accounting system. The Company’s new
medium-term management plan, which will start in the next fiscal year, will also be a key point.

Shareholder Return
・The Company has announced the following policy: “We will strengthen our capital policy to quickly achieve an
ROE of 10% and a positive EVA spread. Until we at least achieve these two goals, we will pay dividends at a
dividend payout ratio of 100% as our new shareholder return policy.” Therefore, for the meantime, the Company is
expected to increase its dividend in the next fiscal year and beyond as it increases profits. It is also anticipated tofurther strengthen shareholder returns through share buybacks and stock splits in line with the rise in the share price.
【 9629 PCA

Sector: Information & Communication 】 Figure A

FY
2021
2022
2022
2023
2024
2024
2024
2025
2025
2025
2026
2027

A: Old Standard
A: Old Standard
A: New Standard
New Standard (the same applies to the rest)A
CE (latest forecast)E (latest forecast)CE
CE: Medium-Term Plan
New E
New E
New E

Net Sales

YoY

Operating
ProfitYoY

Ordinary
ProfitYoY

Net Profit

YoY

EPS

BPS

Dividend(million yen)（%）(million yen)（%）(million yen)（%）(million yen)

（%）

(Y )

(Y )

（Y ）

13,30815,142
13,382
12,981
15,01814,85014,95016,507
15,00016,50018,34020,400

-6.7
13.8
0.6
-3.0
15.7
14.4
15.2
9.9
-0.1
9.9
11.2
11.2

2,340
2,542
2,697
1,326
2,343
1,867
2,030
2,391

-16.7
8.6
15.2
-50.8
76.6
40.7
53.1
2.1

1,668

-8.1

83.50

791.64

11.33

2,367
883
1,611
1,235
1,300
1,656

41.9
-62.7
82.5
40.0
47.2
2.8

118.36
44.16
80.48
61.79
64.89
82.70

847.14870.38932.76

24.00
17.00
81.00
62.00
95.00
83.00

2,530
2,680
2,880

8.0
5.9
7.5

1,700
1,800
1,925

5.5
5.9
6.9

84.86
89.85
96.09

936.57942.43
949.52

2,314
2,516
2,655
1,288
2,309
1,829
2,000
2,357
2,500
2,500
2,650
2,850

-16.8
8.7
14.7
-51.5
79.2
41.9
55.3
2.1
8.3
8.3
6.0
7.5

916.76

84.00
89.00
96.00

(Notes) A: actual results. CE: the Company’s estimate/forecast. E: Alpha-Win Research Dept.’s estimate/forecast. New E: current, newforecast. Past years were retroactively revised for the stock split (3-for-1) conducted on October 1, 2021 (for EPS, BPS, and dividend).
The Accounting Standard for Revenue Recognition (ASBJ Statement No. 29), etc., have been applied starting in FY2022. “Old Standard”
is the previous revenue-recognition standard. “New Standard” is the new revenue-recognition standard.
(Note) In the text and figures of this Report, the values for the same item may not match completely with each other or with theCompany’s announced values due to rounding, rounding during the calculation process, format of display, etc.

3/46This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented in thisReport for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate, or fit
for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting from the use ofor reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual property of thisReport belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024【 Stock Price and Valuation Indicators: 9629 PCA 】 Figure B
7/12/2024

Item

Item

P/E

P/B

Dividend Yield

Dividend Payout Ratio

Stock Price (Y)2,300

Forecast for Last FY

28.6

2.5

3.5%

100.6%

Shares Outstanding (thou.)

22,000

Forecast for This FY

27.1

2.5

3.7%

99.0%

Market Capitalization (million yen)

50,600

Forecast for Next FY

25.6

2.4

3.9%

99.1%

Forecast for Fiscal Year After the Next

23.9

2.4

4.2%

99.9%

9.0%

Last FY's ROE

8.9%

Dilutive Shares (thou.)Equity Ratio at the End of Last FY

0
55.7%

Dividend on Equity (DOE) at the End of Last FY(Note) Forecasts were made by Alpha-Win Research Dept.

【Stock Chart (end-of-week prices) : 9629 PCA】 Figure C
(Y)

2,500
2,300
2,100

5.00

Stock price (left axis)
Price relative to TOPIX (right axis)

4.50

1,900

4.00

1,700

3.50

1,500
1,300

3.00

1,100

2.50

900

2.00

700
500

1.00

08
/1
6
01
/1
7
06
/1
7
11
/1
7
04
/1
8
09
/1
8
02
/1
9
07
/1
9
12
/1
9
05
/2
0
10
/2
0
03
/2
1
08
/2
1
01
/2
2
06
/2
2
11
/2
2
04
/2
3
09
/2
3
02
/2
(M 4
M
/Y
Y
)

300

1.50

【Performance】
PeriodReturn vs. TOPIX
1 month-2.8%-5.9%
3 months
17.6%
12.1%
6 months
43.3%
29.8%
12 months
52.4%
27.8%
(Notes) Reflects stock price and index
values through the closing price on
7/12/2024. The return for the 1-month
period is the comparison between theclosing price on June 28 and July 12.
Similar for the other periods. Preparedby Alpha-Win Research Dept.

(Note) From the fourth week of August 2016 to the end of the second week of July 2024 (closing price on 7/12)＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Disclaimer
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc.
(hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented in this Report.
This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Alpha-Win shall not beliable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting from the use of or
reliance on this Report. Investors who read this Report must make their own decisions on all investment mattersand take full responsibility regarding their investment.
This Report has been prepared with a focus on objectivity and neutrality based on the analysis of generally accessible
public information and supplemental information including interview(s) by the analyst. Alpha-Win, the writer, and/or
other persons involved in the publication of this Report may already hold, or buy and sell in the future, the stock of thecompany presented in this Report.
Contents of this Report are based on information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without
notice. For the latest (updated) report, please see our website (https://www.awincap.com/). We also do not
warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate, or fit forany purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability.
Copyright of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of the publication may be copied, photocopied,cited, or translated without our consent.
For inquiries regarding this Report, please send us an e-mail to info@awincap.com. However, Alpha-Win and theF2024-0718-0000
writer of this Report do not have any obligation to reply to inquiries.

4/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented in thisReport for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate, or fit
for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting from the use ofor reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual property of thisReport belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

Contents
1．Company Overview .................................................................................................................... P6
Major Specialized Player in the Enterprise System Software Industry ............................................. P6
Business Philosophy .......................................................................................................................... P8
Renewed Tagline and Product Brand ................................................................................................ P9
2．Business Description and Business Model .............................................................................. P10
Enterprise System Software Crucial for Efficient Business Operations ......................................... P10
Business Model with High Marginal Profit Ratio and Long-Term Viability ................................. P10
Expansion of the Highly Stable and Profitable Subscription Businesses ........................................ P11
Cloud Business as the Growth Driver ............................................................................................. P12
PCA Hub Series ............................................................................................................................... P13
3．Shareholder Composition ........................................................................................................ P15
Change in Composition by Type of Shareholder ............................................................................ P15
Major Shareholder Composition ..................................................................................................... P15
4．ESG and SDGs .......................................................................................................................... P18
Environment, Society, and Governance .......................................................................................... P18
5．History of Growth ..................................................................................................................... P19
Company History ............................................................................................................................. P19
Past Transition in Financial Performance ........................................................................................ P19
6．Business Environment .............................................................................................................. P21
Trends of the Software Market ........................................................................................................ P21
Comparison with Competitors ......................................................................................................... P22
7．Last Fiscal Year’s Results and This Fiscal Year’s Forecast ................................................. P25
Financial Results for FY2024 (last fiscal year) ................................................................................. P25
PCA’s Financial Forecast for FY2025 (this fiscal year) ................................................................... P30
Alpha-Win Research Dept.’s Financial Forecast for FY2025 (this fiscal year)................................ P33
8．Growth Strategy ........................................................................................................................ P35
Medium- to Long-Term Vision and Policy ..................................................................................... P35
Management Indicators Set as Goals .............................................................................................. P36
Alpha-Win Research Dept.’s Forecast of Medium-Term Financial Performance .......................... P37
9．Analyst’s View ........................................................................................................................... P39
PCA’s Strengths and Challenges ..................................................................................................... P39
Shareholder Return and Shareholder Benefit Program ................................................................... P40
Share Price and Factors that May Affect Share Price ..................................................................... P44
Note: 1) Upon translating to English, when the page numbers differed from the original Japanese version, they were
adjusted to those of the English version of the report. 2) The Company’s fiscal year is March-ending, i.e., FY2025
ends in March 2025.

5/46This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

1. Company Overview
w Major specialized player
in the industry with 44
years of history,
developing and providing
enterprise system
software forsmall/medium-sized
Japanese companies(1) Enterprise system: Part of acompany’s information systemthat deals with matters directly
related to business, such as
financial accounting, production
control, sales management,
inventory management,purchases, HR, and payroll. A
general term for back-officeapplications. Also called themission-critical system, it serves
as the important core system for
operations/services.

◆ Major Specialized Player in the Enterprise System
Software Industry
PCA CORPORATION (hereinafter, the “Company”) is an independent,
mid-tier company in the software industry. Founded in 1980, it has 44 yearsof history. It is a specialist in developing and providing software (software
prepared for use in certain operations) for enterprise systems1, such as those
for accounting and tax. It is a major, specialized player for such software
targeting small/medium-sized companies.

w The PCA Group iscomposed of the Company
and 3 subsidiaries.

About 240,000 companies are active users of the Company’s products.
Sales toward ordinary companies comprise greater than 90% of net sales.
With regards to the size of the corporate customers, the Company isespecially strong in business toward small/medium-sized and mid-tiercompanies with 20 to 300 employees. 80% of the Company’s sales arethrough distributors (the remaining 20% are direct sales). Its customers arediversified. By monetary value, many of its major customers are large
companies. Its largest customer has usually been Ricoh Co., Ltd. (listed on
the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market; securities code 7752), which
accounts for about 27% of net sales. The second largest customer is Fujifilm
Business Innovation Corporation, accounting for about 12% of net sales(both in FY2024). Its accounting software has been used by over 8,000
public benefit corporations in total; it is the top player in the market for thiscustomer segment.

(2) Work management system:
Also called the attendance
management system, it
manages/utilizes various data on
working hours. Can
automatically aggregate datasuch as working hours andprepare data to link with payroll
software. Provided as an onpremises or cloud-based system.

As of the end of June 2024, the PCA Group consists of a total of four
companies: the Company and three consolidated subsidiaries (Figure 1).
1. KEC Corporation (implementation support for PCA’s products/services,
sales of business software, etc.; wholly owned and founded in 1998 by
the Company)
2. Xronos Inc. (development/sales of work management system2; business
was acquired in 2001 and the Company has an 88% stake)
3. Dreamhop Co., Ltd. (mental-health-related business; acquired in
October 2020; wholly owned)【Figure 1】Overview of the Three Consolidated Subsidiaries(Words in green indicate the main updates since the previous report)
Company Name
Main Office Location

Business Description

1. KEC Corporation(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept.
based on each company’s website

2. Xronos Inc.

3. Dreamhop Co., Ltd.

Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (PCA Building)Kanda Neribeicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

3 sales offices in Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyushu

6 sales offices in Sapporo, Sendai, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka

Sales offices and bases in the 2 cities of Osaka and Yokohama

Sales of packaged business software such as PCA Accounting and PCA Payroll,
maintenance of network systems, software installation support, professional
support for implementation, and various user support

Customers

More than 20,000 companies (in Japan)

FoundedApril 1988

HR/labor solutions and mental-health-related businesses (providing stress check tests
and feedback for early detection of persons with mental health problems, andproviding services for preventing leave of absence and job separation), occupational
Work management (attendance management) systems (sales terminated on June 30, 2024), in-house
health physician services (consultation with occupational health physicians; thedevelopment of time clocks, and their sales and maintenance services.
necessary amount of time can be chosen individually), harassment prevention (lawcompliance, liability insurance, and training), and health management (solutions suchas revitalizing the organization and improving productivity)
Xronos Performance
・Number of user accounts (million users): 1.7 ⇒ 1.9 ⇒ 2.5 ⇒ 2.6 ⇒ 2.6
・Number of companies using Xronos Performance: 9,385 (6/7/2023) ⇒ 10,149 (12/6/2023) ⇒10,462 (2/6/2024)
X'sion・Number of user accounts (persons): 431,78 4 ⇒ 515,41 2 ⇒ 682,465 ⇒ 755,70 8 ⇒ 768,641
・Number of companies using X'sion: 4,406 (6/7/2023 ) ⇒ 4,938 (12/6/2023 ) ⇒ 5,100 (2/6/2024)(As of Nov. 15, 202 1 ⇒ May 9, 202 2 ⇒ June 7, 202 3 ⇒ Dec. 6, 202 3 ⇒ Feb. 6, 2024; info on its
website; note that updated information has not been disclosed on its website)

1,500 companies; 16,000 offices; more than 2,000,000 users
PCA Corporation; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Ministry of theEnvironment; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Tokyo
Metropolitan Government; Kanagawa Prefecture; Saitama Prefecture; Chiba
Prefecture; City of Yokohama; Osaka City; City of Sapporo; various othergovernment organizations and companies of the private sector. Used by companies
and organizations of a scale of 10-100,000 people.

May 2011 (business acquired)October 2020 (date acquired; founded in June 2005)

Capital (million yen)

10

60

96.5 (capital increased from 56.5 million yen)

PCA's Stake

100%

88%

100%

42

127 (as of 4/1/2024)

18

Not dislocsed

2,802 million yen (FY ended Mar. 2024; information on its website; +11% YoY sales growth)

Not disclosed

Management Policy

Same as PCA

Formulates its own medium-term plan: working on "investments for future growth" and "steady
performance growth"Same as PCA

Category ofConsolidated Sales

Mostly other operating revenue, plus products, merchandise, maintenance, andcloud

Mostly product sales and cloud sales, plus maintenance and other operating revenue

Other operating revenue

https://www.kec-sp.com/page1

https://www.xronos-inc.co.jp/

Number of Employees(most recent)
Sales (for the mostrecent period)

Website URL
Trends in Business
Performance andRecent Situation

Intense competition, but since it is a growing market, there is potential for development in areas
Business performance tends to be generally linked with the performance of PCA.
such as construction. Solid business performance among the consolidated subsidiaries andDue to the COVID-19 crisis, its business performance had been somewhat
profitability seems high (Alpha-Win estimates net profit to be several hundred million yen).
stagnant, but is now recovering.
Working on shifting to the cloud, strengthening related services, and acquiring new customers.

https://www.dreamhop.com/
Strengthening projects for the private sector through collaboration with PCA; started
providing group analysis and consulting services for stress checks as well; expanding
business into areas with added value. However, it still seems to be posting a net loss
due to upfront investments.

6/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

w Consolidated-to-parentcompany sales ratio has
stably been around 1.1-1.3.
The summed ordinary
profit of the consolidated
subsidiaries (consolidated
minus parent) has been asurplus.

The ratio of consolidated sales to parent company’s sales has stably beenaround 1.1-1.3, indicating that the parent company’s financial performance
has a high weight (Figure 2).
Although each subsidiary’s profit/loss is not disclosed, the ratios of
consolidated to parent-company ordinary profit have been in the range of
1.0-1.6 during the fiscal years that the Company has posted a net profit(including this fiscal year’s forecast).
Additionally, the summed profit/loss of the subsidiaries, calculated byconsolidated minus parent-company ordinary profit, has been a surplus
since FY2016 (note that the Company’s fiscal year is March-ending, i.e.,
FY2016 ended in March 2016) (Figure 3).
Among the subsidiaries, Xronos seems to be continuing to contribute themost to the financial results, thanks to the work-style reform. Its sales were
1.5 billion yen in FY2019, 2.1 billion in FY2020, 2.16 billion yen in
FY2021, 2.21 billion yen in FY2022, 2.53 billion yen in FY2023 (+15%
YoY), and 2.8 billion yen in FY2024 (+11% YoY). For FY2025, Xronos
had previously expected sales to be 4 billion yen (according to Xronos’s
former website).
Although Xronos’s profit is not disclosed, it has mostly likely been postinga profit, along with KEC, and contributing positively to consolidated profits.

【Figure 2】Ratio of Consolidated to Parent Company’s Sales (ratios shown on upper portion of graph)
Units: million yen

18,000
1.1

1.1

Sales of parent company

Consolidated sales minus parent company sales

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.3

16,0003,340

14,000

887

2,872
1,167

12,000

2,659

2,568

712

10,000

782
825

732

8,000

680

681

13,379

6,000
4,000

Consolidated
to parent
companyratio

10,727

9,693
7,487

7,761

FY2015FY2016

8,628

8,960

FY2017FY201812,141

13,167

12,146

10,723

10,413

FY2022

FY20232,000
0FY2014FY2019FY2020

FY2021

FY2024FY2025 CE【Figure 3】Ratio of Consolidated to Parent Company’s Ordinary Profit (ratios shown on upper portion of graph)
Ordinary profit of parent company

Consolidated ordinary profit minus parent company's ordinary profit

Units: million yen

3,500

1.2

N.A

1.6

1.1

1.0

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.1

1.2

408

477

1,935

1,914

FY2024FY2025 CE

3,000
402

2,500

470
443

2,000

Consolidated
to parent
company
ratio

1.2

1,500
1,000
500

221

34
59

918
-139

26

0
-19

-500
FY2014FY2015

405

800

238

2,406
1,897

2,227

115

1,211

1,039

41
FY2016FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

FY2023(Ref) Figures 2 and 3 were prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the securities report. CE: the Company’s plan.

7/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

w Founded by certified public
accountants

The name of the Company comes from the five founders who were certified
public accountants (CPA); the letters CPA were shuffled into themeaningful name P (Professional) C (Computer) A (Automation).

w Rich in cash. Debt-lessmanagement.

The Company’s financial standing is firm, rich in cash and debt-less.
Compared to its net sales of 15 billion yen (last fiscal year’s result) and total
assets of 33.6 billion yen, it has 20.9 billion yen in cash and deposits (+3.1
billion yen compared to the end of March 2023), which is equivalent to 62%
of total assets and 16.7 months’ worth of average monthly sales (values asof the end of March 2024; the same applies below). In addition, it owns
more than 2.8 billion yen in securities, which are mainly corporate bonds
and listed stocks.

w FCF is positive. Thebalance of cash & deposits
is increasing and exceeding
annual sales. Its financial
standing its firm.

Its free cash flow (FCF) has been positive excluding a certain period in thepast, and cash and deposits on the balance sheet (B/S) have been generally
increasing (Figure 4). Its equity ratio is 55.7% and current ratio is 201.5%,
indicating financial soundness.

【Figure 4】Change in Cash Flow (CF) (units: million yen)
Units: million yen

FY2010FY2011FY2012FY2013

FY2014FY2015FY2016FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

FY2024

Operating CF ①

627

488

141

847

1,048

547

1,427

1,533

1,270

2,141

3,328

1,632

3,684

2,641

Investing CF ②

-405

-127

185

-407

-750

-606

-627

-395

1,715

-80

-719

253

708

-308

3,456

Financing CF

-207

-210

-205

-215

-216

-284

-214

-215

-216

-572

-225

-355

-254

-606

-457

FCF ( ①+②)

222

361

326

440

299

-60

800

1,137

2,985

2,061

2,609

1,885

4,392

2,333

3,568

Cash and Deposits (on B/S)

6,817

5,970

5,493

6,621

6,606

6,154

6,612

7,487

7,269

7,280

10,716

11,74916,09017,81920,934112(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results summary(Note) Cash and deposits shown are values from the balance sheet, not values used in the CF calculation.

◆ Business Philosophy
w The Group’s basic
business policy is to “aimfor a more rational
business managementwith clear vision.”w The mission statement isto “contribute to society
by developing andproviding packaged
enterprise system
software that enables
high-level automation.”

The Company’s business philosophy was clearly declared as “customerfirst” when it made its first public offering in March 1994. Then, in 2010,it laid out its mission statement, the three key ideas of its businessphilosophy, and 34 rules for the code of conduct, and announced that thebasic business policy of the PCA Group is to “aim for a more rational
business management with clear vision.”
The Company’s mission statement is to “contribute to society by
developing and providing packaged enterprise system software that enables
high-level automation.” While its corporate culture is down-to-earth andhomely, the Company is also characterized as having a pioneering spirit in
the rather conservative industry, conducting R&D and launching new
products and services ahead of its competitors.
The following are the three key ideas of the Company’s businessphilosophy:
1) We will always be customer-first.
2) We will aspire to become a highly profitable company over the long termwith sound management.
3) We will treat employees like family and create a homely culture.

w The new tagline is “When
WORK Changes”

8/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024◆ Renewed Tagline and Product Brand
w The new tagline is “WhenWork Transforms”

TaglineAs the new brand message, the tagline was renewed to “When Work
Transforms.” Aspiring to become a company that grows together with all its
customers and partners, it aims to help improve back-office productivity,
understand and support the working people, and contribute to its corporate
customers’ customer success for their greater development (Figure 5).
【Figure 5】New Tagline(Ref) The Company’s website

w Renewed the names andlogo designs of its productseries. The rebranding is
aimed at raising
recognition as a
subscription brand.
(3) PCA Subscription: Instead ofpurchasing or owning packaged
software, monthly or annual
fixed fees are paid for its use. Not
cloud-based; operating
environment is built andmanaged in-house.

Branding
In January 2022, the Company rebranded the names and logos of its products
and services. It created new product names and logos linked with PCA Cloudand PCA Subscription3. Through these changes, it aims to raise its brandrecognition as PCA of subscription services (Figure 6).
The following is the meaning of the logo:
The “P” in PCA is “P” as in “Professional.” It is also the “P” as in“Person” and “Partner.” It’s not just the creators of the accounting
software, but also the people who use it and the people who connect
the creators and the users. We are committed to ensuring that thepower of each and every working person will help companies, theeconomy, and the society evolve always toward a bright future. From
foundation until now, the logo of PCA has been alongside each andevery working person, with the reassuring face of a person looking
toward tomorrow in the middle of each “P.”【Figure 6】New Brand Logo

(Ref) The Company’s website

9/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

2．Business Description and Business Model◆ Enterprise System Software Crucial for Efficient
Business Operations
w Enterprise systems are

mission critical. Stability
and reliability are crucial
elements since they areused inside companies.

The Company’s core business is enterprise systems that support internalbusiness operations. Unlike systems that simply work on PCs, an enterprisesystem is a computer system that supports a series of processes throughout
all business operation flows within a company. Since it is mission-criticalfor business operations, it is required to be reliable, efficient, stable,
convenient, secure, and expandable.
The main methods for building an enterprise system are package-based
system development and original system development. Generally, themethod of combining sold packaged software into a system has advantages
such as short development time, cheapness, and having relatively few bugs.
On the other hand, its disadvantage is the difficulty in customizing thesystem to a company’s business characteristics, operations, management
styles, and other specific needs.
As for original software development and implementation, outsourced
development and in-house development are the two methods. In either case,the advantage of an original system is that it is easier to use since it can becustomized to a company’s needs and operations. However, development
cost and time are greater, and it will need revisions, addition of functions,and maintenance after implementation. Micro-sized, small-sized, mediumsized, and mid-tier companies especially tend to find the development,
implementation, and operation of original software difficult due to financial,staff, and time constraints.

(4) Accounting software:
Application software for therecording, processing, andintegrated management ofaccounting data
(5) HR and payroll software:
Software for payroll calculationsand HR management

In response to this, the Company has developed original enterprise system
software that specifically meets the needs of one-person businesses andmicro-sized (SOHO), small, medium-sized, and mid-tier companies inareas such as accounting4, finance, HR and payroll5, sales management,purchase and inventory management, and tax. The enterprise system
software is either packaged (on-premises: conventional products operated
in-house by a corporate user) or cloud-based (a service in which a corporate
user can use the enterprise system software via the Internet easily and at alow cost without having to prepare its own server). The Company had been
selling and providing its software through either direct or indirect channels(sales of packaged software were terminated in March 2024).
Additionally, the Company has not only been developing and sellingenterprise system software, but it has also been expanding its business byproviding proposal-based consulting services. With its subsidiaries, it has
also been providing various support services such as maintenance service
and implementation/operation support. Going forward, the Company plansto further strengthen these businesses.

w Provides about 26 types oforiginally developed
enterprise system
software◆ Business Model with High Marginal Profit Ratio andLong-Term Viability
The Company provides a total of about 26 types of software (counted byproduct name, including options). Its business model is based on the mass

10/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
production of a limited number of types of products. Due to the nature ofits business, its marginal profit ratio is high.

w 80% of sales come fromoriginally developed
products and services.

Its original products and services (products/maintenance/cloud) account for
80% of net sales, while the remaining 20% are from other companies’
products (purchased merchandise) in the merchandise and other operating
revenue categories. From the development to the release of a new product,
approximately two years and a corresponding amount of cost are necessary.
Version upgrades (revision updates), which are prepared as needed, arereleased usually in a one- to two-year cycle. In recent years, however,software functions have become so enhanced that customers now tend topurchase less in response to this version upgrade cycle.

w Entry barrier is high sincecredibility and proven trackrecord are necessary.

Since these types of software are related to operations that must be highly
reliable, and since software replacements give rise to issues of cost, labor,
and data continuity, their users show little interest in proactively or
frequently replacing their current software with an alternative of a different
company.
Therefore, customer loyalty and contract repeat rates are high (50% to 90%
or greater depending on the type of software). The barrier to market entry
is high because credibility and brand recognition are a must in this industry
and since companies have been able to adjust toward coexistence within themarket to a certain extent by taking strong positions in different niches.

◆ Expansion of the Highly Stable and Profitable
Subscription Businesses
w Sales are divided into fivecategories. Focused on thesubscription-based
businesses.

Until FY2016, sales and profit/loss had been disclosed for the four businesssegments targeting general businesses, non-profit organizations, medical,
and cloud. Since FY2017, though, all business segments have been
consolidated into one. Instead, sales are disclosed for five sales categories(types): products, merchandise, maintenance service, cloud services, andother operating revenue (also called solutions) (Figure 5). Profit and loss
by segment are no longer disclosed.

【Figure 7】Sales Classification (by category)FY2024 (results)
Sales Classification by Category

Products
Merchandise
Maintenance Service
Cloud Services
Other Operating Revenue

Contents
Sales of original packaged software (accounting, sales management, purchasing and inventory management, payroll, HR, etc.)
Sales of other companies’ products such as ledger sheets
By signing up to PSS membership, users can receive inquiry and support services from call centers
Subscription service for software provided via the cloud
Sales of other companies’ products such as software/hardware combined with its original products; also called as solutions

Total & Average
Reference

Sales (million yen)

% of Net Sales

Est. Gross Profit
Margin

1,222
532

8.1
3.6

About 65%
About 30%

3,568
7,467

23.8
49.7

About 75%
About 70%

2,227

14.8

About 40%

15,018100.0 Result: 64.2%

Estimated weighted average: 64.9%(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the securities report and interview. Gross profit margins have been estimated by Alpha-Win.
(Note) Maintenance service and cloud services are the subscription-based businesses.

w Subscription-based
businesses (maintenanceservice & cloud services)
constitute the majority,
accounting for 73.5% of
net sales.

In recent years, sales of the cloud services of the Company’s packaged
software have grown significantly, becoming the Company’s growth driverwith regards to both the overall sales and profit. Since FY2021, sales of thecloud services have been the largest among the sales categories, followedby maintenance service. The sum of these two categories, or subscriptionbased revenue (also called the “stock business” in Japanese), accounted forabout 73.5% of net sales. The maintenance and the cloud services, with

11/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
their high gross profit margins and contract repeat rates, have been stablesources of profit and contributing to greater stability of business and profit.
On the other hand, sales of products and solutions (other operating revenue)
tend to be impacted by event-driven high demand, replacement cycles, andversion upgrades.
Consolidated sales breakdown by the operation type of software is notdisclosed. However, sales are diversified, with the sales of accounting
software predicted to be the largest in proportion (about 15% of net sales),followed by software for sales management, purchase/inventory
management, and then lastly payroll and HR.
The Company has commented that the profit margins of each operation typeof software do not greatly differ between one another, but the main
accounting software is generally the most profitable.
The percentage of new software sales or version upgrade sales in net sales
changes every year, but the percentage of version upgrades has always been
greater than 50%. Note that the Company’s on-premises products tend to
be installed and used by users on a single PC (stand-alone).

◆ Cloud Business as the Growth Driverw Rapidly shifting from salesof packaged software to thecloud/subscription-based
business modelw
w The rapidly growing cloudbusiness is based on a
subscription-based, stablebusiness model. Taking alead in the market as the
single and obvious top
player, the Company has astrong competitive edge.

(6) API (Application
Programming Interface):
Interface/network to use
software; connects the softwareand the program.
(7) Kintone: Cloud service forbuilding business app on a web
database, provided by Cybozu.
Allows easy system building andlinkage with other systems.
(8) AWS: Stands for Amazon
Web Services; the collective
name for the cloud computing
services provided by Amazon.
The on AWS version enables theuse of PCA’s cloud services on
the AWS server.

For many years, the Company had been focused on the business of selling
conventional packaged software, also known as on-premises software.
However, as the Internet became more sophisticated and widely used, it
predicted that the demand for cloud services will rise due to its convenienceand cost performance. Therefore, in 2008, the Company started providing
cloud services more than ten years ahead of its competitors. Since then, it
has been providing cloud versions of all of its on-premises software.
In the cloud business, users pay fees continuously for some span to use thesoftware (subscription model). Like the maintenance service, it is attractive
as a stable, subscription-based business model (average monthly fee ofabout 30 thousand yen per corporate user). Due to its cost structure, thisbusiness has relatively small variable costs such as those for server
maintenance, manufacturing, sales, and logistics. It therefore has a highmarginal profit ratio.
The Company leads the industry as the top player in cloud-based, enterprisesystem software targeting small/medium-sized companies. In recent years(2017-2018), its competitors have also entered the cloud market in full scaleas their “first year of the cloud.” However, due to the advantages and points
of differentiation listed below, the Company is expected maintain acompetitive edge against its competitors for the meanwhile.
・ Providing a wide variety of sophisticated software for business operations
・ Originally developed, open architecture; low cost・ Economies of scale are in effect, with already more than 22,000 corporate
users of the cloud services: well profitable.
・ Therefore, it has a price advantage compared to competitors.
・ More than ten years’ worth of operation expertise・ User-friendly, with WebAPI6 allowing linkage with other companies’
cloud services (linkage already possible with about 60 companies,
including Kintone7 of Cybozu)
・ In PCA Cloud on AWS8, service is available 24 hours, 365 days.

12/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
The Company has been focusing on cloud services for more than a decade,and both the number of corporate users and sales have been growing
steadily (Figure 8 and Figure 22 on page 27). The growth had temporarily
slowed down with the expansion of business scale, but both the sales andthe net increase in the number of users are recovering on a quarterly basis(Figure 23 on page 27). The business will most likely continue to be thegrowth driver.

【Figure 8】Change in the Number of Corporate Users of PCA Cloud (nonconsolidated figures)and Consolidated Sales of the Cloud Services
30,00016,000

Sales of the cloud services (right axis: million yen)
25,000

Number of corporate users of the cloud services (left axis: companies)

14,00012,00020,00010,00015,000

8,000

6,000
10,000
4,000
5,000
2,000

0

FY
20
08
FY
20
09
FY
20
10
FY
20
11
FY
20
12
FY
20
13
FY
20
14
FY
20
15
FY
20
16
FY
20
17
FY
20
18
FY
20
19
FY
20
20
FY
20
21
FY
20
22
FY
20
23
FY
20
FY 24
20
25
E
FY
20
26
E
FY
20
27
E

0

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the Company’s financial results briefing materials and interview. “E”
represents estimates/forecasts made by Alpha-Win Research Dept.
(Note) Sales from FY2008 to FY2010 are not disclosed. The number of corporate users of the cloud service includes estimates.

◆ PCA Hub Series
w The PCA Hub, centered on
PCA Hub eDOC, wasstarted in March 2022.
Cloud service fordocument managementthat also supports theElectronic Books
Preservation Act.

(9) (PCA) hyper: New software
for mid-tier companies as a
successor to Dream21. A
superior version of the DX
series. A company can choose
flexibly between the on-premises
or the cloud version, depending
on its stage of growth. Its uniquefeature is that smooth linkage
can be made with other systems
using API, allowing streamliningof data management within a
corporate group (consolidated
accounting).

The PCA Hub service (hub as in “the center of something”) was started in
March 2022. PCA Hub is a series of new services that help small/mediumsized and mid-tier companies share core business data and shift to paperlessinternal operations and B2B transactions, thereby contributing to thedigitization of the Japanese society.
The concept of the PCA Hub series is “supporting companies and thesociety through technology.” Toward the creation of a sustainable society,the series will provide “levels of operation efficiency optimization that
seemed out of reach” at “prices within reach” for operational challenges
which have yet to be solved by systems due to investment costs being too
high.
As the first and the core service of the series, PCA Hub eDOC has beenreleased (PCA Hub eDOC is one of the PCA Hub services).
PCA Hub eDOC is an online storage service (cloud-based document
management service) that enables companies to safely and securely shareimportant business data and files internally. Also linked with the PCA DX
series and the hyper9 series, it is a tool for optimizing operation efficiency.

13/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024(10) [The revised] Electronic Books
Preservation Act: A law that allows
the storage of national-tax-related
books and documents as electronic
data. Came into effect in January
2022. Its purpose is to improve
productivity and convenience, as
well as promoting paperless
operation and remote work. Its
grace period ended at the end of2023, excluding the new grace
measure.
(11) JIIMA certification: “Legal
Requirements Certification Programfor Scan-Store Software in Applying
the Electronic Books Law” by theJapan Image and Information
Management Association (JIIMA).
Checks whether commerciallyavailable software meets therequirements of the Electronic Books
Preservation Act and certifies thosethat have been judged to meet thelegal requirements.
w The PCA Hub series is basedon monthly subscriptions.
Aiming for 2,000 users within
1 year after release (total of theentire PCA Hub series).
(12) New invoicing system: The
Qualified Invoice Preservation
Method, which was started in
October 2023, is a new system for
issuing and storing invoices anddelivery slips, created for the purposeof accurately recognizing the amountof consumption tax in transactions.

PCA Hub eDOC enables the digitization and paperless operation of fundmanagement, accounting management, labor management, and more. It
also supports the requirements of the Electronic Books Preservation Act10and has acquired the JIIMA certification11.
Following PCA Hub eDOC, PCA Hub eDOC AI-OCR Option was also
released in November 2022 as part of the PCA Hub series (see Figure 9 forthe main lineup of the PCA Hub series).
In addition to this, in March 2023, the Company released web-based
delivery services for invoices (such as the conversion of invoices toelectronic forms), including compatibility with electronic invoices, and forpay slips (pay slips, withholding tax slips, year-end adjustment notifications,etc.).
The PCA Hub series are cloud-based subscription services that charge
monthly fees and is highly expandable. Each service has a price plan basedon options such as the number of users, storage size, the number of
employees, and the number of invoices created, providing a pricing
structure that lowers the hurdle of starting software use. The Company aims
to gain a total of 2,000 corporate users within one year after the release of
the current three services (eDOC, Invoice, and Pay Slip) (sales target notdisclosed). Although it used to purchase and sell other companies’ software,
treating them as the solutions business, it now plans to sequentially develop
products in response to customer needs, switch to its original products, andprovide various peripheral services as the PCA Hub series. The Company
intends to develop this business into a stable revenue source.
For the Qualified Invoice Preservation Method (new invoicing system12)that started in October 2023, the Company released updated versions of its
current, major PCA products and services in the summer of 2023 that arecompatible with this system.

【Figure 9】Main Lineup of the PCA Hub Series and the Schedule of Future Releases
Date

Service/ProductSituation

6 Services of the PCA Hub Series
March 2022

① PCA Hub eDOC

Released / Service started

Notes (characteristics)
A new series of services that supports mid-tier and small/medium-sized companies in shifting topaperless internal operations and B2B transactions for the digitalization of the Japanese society.
An online storage service for safe and secure sharing of important business data and files within acompany. It is also compatible with the Electronic Books Preservation Act and can be used to store
receipts, invoices, and other vouchers.
A service for electronic delivery of invoices and transaction details that is also compatible withelectronic invoices. It can be linked to the PCA Shokon and Shokan series and PCA Accounting
hyper Receivables Management Option. Supports the shift to paperless invoicing and digitalizationof the invoicing process itself.
Advantages:

March 2023

② PCA Hub Invoice

Released / Service started

・Web-based delivery of invoices reduces the cost of mailing paper invoices.
・Significant reduction in the amount of time required to enclose and send invoices by mail.
・Eliminates the need for employees to come to office for invoicing work (eliminating a barrier toremote work)
・Reduction in the workload necessary to reissue invoices

March 2023

③ PCA Hub Pay Slip

Released / Service started

Service specialized in web-based pay slip delivery. Calculation results of the PCA Payroll series canbe imported into PCA Hub Pay Slip and sent to employees as a notification. Documents that can bedelivered include pay slips, bonus slips, refund statements, and withholding tax slips.
Advantages: Same as PCA Hub Invoice above

Release Planned

・PCA Hub Year-End Adjustment: An online service that enables employees to directly update yearend adjustment information that has been registered in the PCA Payroll series by the staff in charge.
・PCA Hub Labor Management: An online service that enables employees to directly update
information that has been registered in the PCA Payroll series by the staff in charge.
・PCA Hub HR Suite: PCA Hub Pay Slip, PCA Hub Year-End Adjustment, and PCA Hub Labor
Management can be used as a set.

④ PCA Hub Year-End Adjustment
Summer 2024

⑤ PCA Hub Labor Management⑥ PCA Hub HR Suite(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results materials and news release on the Company’s website.

14/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

3． Shareholder Composition◆ Change in Composition by Type of Shareholder
Regarding shareholder composition by shareholder type as of the end of
March 2024 (Figure 10), the sum of “other corporate entities” and“individuals and others” (including treasury shares) accounts for greaterthan 70% of the total. There has been no large change in the composition
compared with the end of FY2023, although the proportion of “financial
instrument business operators” has increased by about 2% and the
proportion of “overseas corporate entities” has decreased by about 2%.

w No large change in the
proportion of each type ofshareholder

w Shares were transferred
due to inheritance, but thelargest shareholder has notessentially changed.

Note that upon inheritance from the founder (Masao Kawashima),
individually owned shares were transferred in FY2017 to the generalincorporated association Kawashima Co., Ltd. (the founder family’s asset
management company, categorized under “other corporate entities”).

【Figure 10】Change in Shareholder Composition by Type of Shareholder (units: %)
(%)
90
80
70
60
47.31

50

Other corporate
entities

40
30

26.89

20

16.82

10

7.04

0

FY2012FY2013

FY2014FY2015FY2016FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

FY2024

Individuals andoth ers
Overseas
corporate
entities
Financial
institu tion sat year-end(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the securities report(Note) Numbers on the right end of the Figure are the percentage of each type of shareholder as of the end of FY2024.

◆ Major Shareholder Composition
Major shareholders as of the end of March 2024 are shown in Figure 11 on
page 16.
w No change to stableshareholders in Japan

Compared to the end of March 2023 (the same point of comparison applies
hereinafter), the number of shares held by the top ten major shareholders
have not changed largely except for the custodians (trust banks) and the
Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

w The largest shareholder isthe founder family’s asset
management company.

・The largest shareholder Kawashima Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Kawashima”)
is the asset management company of two directors of the Company(Fumiaki Sato, President, and Hiroshi Kumamoto, Director) and theirrelatives (descendants to the founder Masao Kawashima). Its shareholding
ratio remains unchanged at approximately 41% (ratio to the total number ofoutstanding shares excluding treasury shares; the same applies hereinafter).
・The Company itself is essentially the second largest shareholder (although
not listed among the major shareholders). Currently, the treasury shares
currently owned by the Company are approx. 8.5% of all outstanding shares.
15/46

w。

w PCA owns 8.5% of its own
shares and is essentiallythe second largest
shareholder.

wThis Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented in
thisReport for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based onw
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024【Figure 11】Current Major Shareholders
Units: thousand shares for the number of shares owned and % for
the ratios and proportions
Kawashima Co., Ltd.
PCA CORPORATION (treasury shares)
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK 385632
The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. (trust account)
Obic Business Consultants Co., Ltd.
PCA Employee Stock Ownership Plan
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY 505001
Logic Systems Co., Ltd.
Nagoya PCA Co., Ltd.
FCP SEXTANT AUTOUR DU MOUDE
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON 140044
MSIP CLIENT SECURITIESAPPLIED SYSTEM LABORATORY Inc.
GOLDMAN SACHS INTERNATIONAL
Custody Bank of Japan, Ltd. (trust account)
BNY GCM CLIENT ACCOUNT JPRD AC ISG (FE-AC)
JPMBL RE NOMURA INTERNATIONAL PLC 1 COLLEQUITY
JP MORGAN LUXEMBOURG S.A. 1300000
MSCO CUSTOMER SECURITIESCredit Suisse Securities
Japan Trustee Services Bank, Ltd. (trust account)
SSBTC CLIENT OMNIBUS ACCOUNT
Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
BNYM SA/NV FOR BNYM FOR BNY GCM CLIENT ACCOUNTSM LSCB RD
Shigefumi Wada (individual)
KBL EPB S.A. 107704
Reiko Sato (individual): Heir to the founder Masao Kawashima
Tomoko Kumamoto (individual): Heir to the founder Masao
Kawashima
Hiroko Wada (individual)
Proportion (%) of Treasury Shares to All Outstanding Shares

Units for shares owned: thousand shares

For proportions and ratios: %End of Mar. End of Mar. End of Mar. End of Mar.
End of Mar.
End of Mar. End of Mar. End of Mar. End of Mar.
End of Mar.
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
－
－
8,805
8,805
8,208
8,205
8,208
8,208
8,208
8,207
2,544
2,544
2,544
2,546
3,146
3,136
3,101
3,101
2,001
1,967
－
－
－
－
－
－
1,014
1,399
1,399
1,398
－
－
－
－
－
－
284
1,137
948
1,081
762
762
762
762
762
762
762
762
762
762
330
357
381
381
406
300
337
349
392
412
－
－
－
－
732
747
798
798
521
379
342
342
342
342
342
342
342
342
342
342
－
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
377
450
300
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
297
－
－
－
－
－
－
885
886
886
886
－
－
－
－
－
258
258
258
260
260
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
909
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
463
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
359
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
1,416
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
267
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
－
261
－
－
－
－
－
363
363
363
363
363
－

－

－

－

－

－

－

－

－

－

543
－
4,401

543
－
4,401

543
－
－

453
270
－

335
282
－

－
－
－

－
－
－

－
－
－

－
－
－

－
－
－

4,401

4,401

－

－

－

－

－

－

－

－

1,074
11.0

－
11.0

－
11.1

－
11.0

－
13.6

－
13.6

－
13.4

－
13.4

－
9.1

－
8.9

Shareholding
Ratio

40.97
8.94
6.98
5.40
3.81
2.06
1.89
1.71
1.50
1.50
1.49

RankingChange(Mar. 2024 minus Mar. 2023)

1
―
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

-1
-34
-1
133
-0
20
0
-0
-150
-

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the securities report.
(Notes) The number of shares has been retroactively adjusted for the 3-for-1 stock split conducted in October 2021. Shareholding ratio is the ratio to the total
number of outstanding shares excluding treasury shares (this does not apply to the calculation of the proportion of treasury shares).

・ The number of shares owned by the second largest shareholder, JP
MORGAN CHASE BANK, has not changed.
・The third largest shareholder is the Master Trust Bank of Japan (trust
account), whose shareholding ratio has increased from 4.7% to 5.4%.
・The sixth largest shareholder, STATE STREET, and the tenth largest
shareholder, THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, have replaced MSIP
CLIENT SECURITIES (fifth largest shareholder as of the end of March
2023) and APPLIED SYSTEM LABORATORY Inc. (tenth largest
shareholder as of the end of March 2023) as new major shareholders.
w Several Japanese andoverseas institutional
investors are mostly likely
investing in the Company
through custodians.

Trust banks and custodians, including those listed above, are listed as major
shareholders, but the ultimate investors and the purpose of their investments
are unknown. They are most likely investments from funds and investment
trusts by domestic and foreign institutional investors, for purely investment
purposes.

w MFS, a major US-based
investment management
firm, holds more than 5%of all shares and has
submitted a statement oflarge-volume holdings. It
seems to be continuing tohold the shares.

Massachusetts Financial Services Company (MFS) had submitted astatement of large-volume holdings (the 5%-rule statement). It later
purchased more shares and submitted a change report indicating that its
shareholding ratio was 6.23% (479,400 shares) as of May 31, 2021. Achange report has not been submitted since then, so this firm is most likely
continuing to hold nearly the same number of shares.
MFS is one of the oldest investment firms in the US. It invests globally andits AUM is 598.1 billion dollars (approx. 84 trillion yen and 2,000
employees as of the end of December 2023). Characterized by a long-term
and active investment style, it also has an office in Japan and currently
invests in many Japanese equities.
Although MFS is not included in the list of major shareholders shown in
Figure 11, it is most likely investing through several custodian accounts
including JP Morgan Chase Bank at second place (ranking excluding theCompany with its treasury shares; the same applies hereinafter).

16/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

w Regarding JapaneseRegarding Japanese investment trusts, the Company’s shares are mainly
incorporated in active funds such as the New Generation Growth Equity
Fund (Daiwa Daisuke) and the Social Issue Solution Support Fund (Smile
Kakehashi) managed by Daiwa Asset Management, as well as index funds
managed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management and Mitsubishi
UFJ Asset Management.

w Its rival OBC is also thefourth largest shareholder.

・ The fourth largest shareholder, Obic Business Consultants Co., Ltd.
(OBC; listed on TSE Prime; securities code 4733), is a competitor withwhom the Company has no transactions. There has been no change in thenumber of shares held.

investment trusts, several
active funds and index
funds are investing in the
Company.

・The number of shares held by the Employee Stock Ownership Plan at fifth
place has somewhat increased.
・The shareholding ratio of the sixth largest shareholder, FCP SEXTANTAUTOUR DU MONDE, has decreased from 2.3% to 1.5%. It is an equity
investment fund managed by the French company Amiral Gestion (anindependent asset management company founded in 2003 and focused onlong-term investments; total investment amount of 3.8 billion euro, whichis equivalent to about 650 billion yen). The fund invests in equities ofOECD and emerging countries. Amiral Gestion’s funds are also major
shareholders of several listed Japanese companies, including Avant Group,
Nissan Shatai, and Shin Maint Holdings (all ranked between eighth andtenth in shareholder ranking).
・Shares held by the seventh largest shareholder, Logic Systems Co., Ltd.
(investment purpose unknown), and the eighth largest shareholder, Nagoya
PCA Co., Ltd. (a company to which the Company outsources a part of its
software development for the SHOKON and other products), haveremained mostly unchanged.
w There seems to be no
activist among the major
shareholders.

・Currently, there seems to be no activist-like behavior among the major
shareholders. Also, the Company has not adopted any anti-takeovermeasures.

17/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

4．ESG and SDGs
w Promoting paperless
operations, energy-saving,
and business efficiency
through digitalization(13) TCFD (Task Force on
Climate-related Financial
Disclosures): A task force(temporary body) established by
the Financial Stability Board(FSB). It recommends thatclimate-related information bedisclosed (i.e., financial
information should be disclosed
together with environmental
risks and the status of measuresagainst these risks).
w Supporting digitalizationof small/medium-sizedcompanies
w Proactively supporting
people with physicalchallenges and thediscovering anddevelopment of IT talents
w It views human capital asof the highest importance.
Aiming to maximize
human capital for thegrowth of the Group andthe realization of asustainable society.
w Certified as the 2023
Health and Productivity
Management Outstanding
Organization (Large
enterprise Category)(14) Well-being: A state of being
physically, mentally, socially, andeconomically well, fulfilled, andsatisfied, which leads toincreased motivation andproductivity.

In consideration of the sustainability of the environment, society, andeconomy, the Company works on the following initiatives from theperspectives of ESG and business sustainability (SDGs).

◆ Environment
Although the Company does not have production facilities and its businessdoes not impose any harm to the environment, it has joined the TCFD13 andis working to reduce its energy consumption and CO2 emissions. It is
working on shifting to paperless operation by digitizing internal documents,
recycling paper, and using digital technology to reduce the need for travel,
thereby improving the efficiency of business activities and saving energy
and electricity.
◆ SocietyAs its mission statement, the Company has declared to “support customers’
businesses through enterprise system software.” It is fulfilling its social
responsibility by contributing to the improvement of user convenience andefficiency. With services centered on PCA Cloud and others, the Company
supports the rational, data-driven management and secure business
operations of its user base of small/medium-sized companies andencourages their transformation into digital companies.
It also contributes to the development of IT human resources by identifying
and training outstanding programmers who will create the future, as well as
providing various types of support such as the promotion of sports
including marathons and the employment of physically challenged people.
The Company also believes that maximizing human capital is what
contributes to the growth of the PCA Group and the realization of asustainable society. It works on human resource development and work
environment improvement, and conducts management with an emphasis on
employee well-being14. It has been certified as a 2023 Health andProductivity Management Outstanding Organization (Large Enterprise
Category), as an excellent corporation working on health management, inthe Health and Productivity Management Outstanding Organization
Recognition System sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, andIndustry and Nippon Kenko Kaigi.
Pursuant to the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation andAdvancement in the Workplace and the Act on Advancement of Measures
to Support Raising Next-Generation Children, the Company has also beenworking on raising the percentage of female managers, raising the paid
holiday acquisition rate, providing financial support for child rearing, andpromoting the acquisition of annual paid holidays.

w Of the total of 12 directors
and auditors, three are
women (25%). Seven (58%)
are external directors andexternal auditors.

◆ Governance
For internal control, the Company has set up an internal audit office that
directly reports to the president, which is also managed in coordination withthe external directors. It has also set up a risk control committee with thepresident as the chairperson and has created a risk control system thatenables flexible, quick, and appropriate response to risks.

(15) The government target is toincrease the ratio of female
executives in companies listed on
the TSE Prime Market to at least
30% by 2030.

There are a total of 12 directors and auditors, specifically, eight directors(of which, four external directors) and four auditors (of which, threeexternal auditors including a tax accountant, a certified public accountant,and a lawyer). Of these members, three (25%15) are female.

18/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

5．History of Growth◆ Company History
A group of five certified public accountants with the late Masao
Kawashima as the leader founded the Company in 1980 upon recognizing
the importance and promising future of computers and software businesses
in Japan. At first, they developed and sold business accounting software forsmall business computers. In 1995, expecting to eventually shift away fromusers of small business computers, the Company began focusing on thedevelopment and sales of packaged software for PCs.

w Founded upon recognizing
the importance andpromising future ofcomputers and enterprisesystem software in Japanw With a pioneering spirit,
became the first to begin
cloud services in theindustry

Then, with the emergence of the PC era, the Company grew mainly throughthe following four strategies: 1) creation of a greater variety of packaged
software for Japanese customers as well as their version upgrades, 2)
expansion of the maintenance service, 3) development of the cloud business,and 4) expansion of the solutions business which includes providing othercompanies’ products. Furthermore, by increasing the number of offices andcooperating with manufacturers and distributors, the Company has
developed a nationwide sales/support system that has contributed to therapid expansion of its business. It is also seen as a pioneer in theconservative industry, having been the first in the industry to begin
providing cloud services (SaaS16) in 2008.

(16) SaaS (Software as a Service):
Software in which, as a service,users can use the necessaryfunction in the necessary amountwhen needed, or the method ofproviding such a service. Insteadof the user installing thesoftware, the vendor hosts thesoftware and provides thenecessary function to the user via
a network.

Regarding its shares, the first public offering was made in 1994. The
Company became listed on the Second Section of the TSE in 2000 and thenon the First Section in 2014. In April 2022, its listing was changed to the
TSE Prime Market.

w Changed its market listingfrom the Second to theFirst Section of the TSE in
Dec. 2014. Its listing waschanged to the Prime
Market in April 2022.

◆ Past Transition in Financial Performancew Has been generally

As described above, the Company has been expanding its business andimproving profitability since foundation until now as a specialist in thedevelopment and sales of enterprise system software and related businesses.
The transition in financial performance since its first public offering is
described in Figure 12 (regarding supplemental information on pastfinancial results, please see our previous report issued in December 2023).

increasing sales over thelong term. Profit had
weakened during a period,
but the profit margin thenrecovered in a V-shape.

【Figure 12】Long-Term Transition in Financial Performance
Net Sales (left axis)

Ordinary Profit (right axis)(Million yen)

(Million yen)

18,0002,808

16,0002,340
14,266

14,000
1,783

12,0001,539
1,290

10,000

1,396

1,227

1,218
8,000
6,000

660

794
565

1,565

11,4391,582

10,475
1,181

1,084
935

5,095
5,441
4,827
5,026 4,762
4,867
4,551
3,541
4,000
3,232
3,017

5,595

9,7851,277
9,360
8,441
8,168

1,392

1,181
6,383
6,336
6,006

798
6,269

7,551
724 6,805

3,000

2,697

16,50715,01813,3822,000

13,308
1,500
1,326

834

1,139

2,500

12,981
2,391
2,343

1,000

463
6,275

500

6,167
5,867

501 384

67
0

2,000
-158

-500

FY
19
94
FY
19
95
FY
19
96
FY
19
97
FY
19
98
FY
19
99
FY
20
00
FY
20
01
FY
20
02
FY
20
03
FY
20
04
FY
20
05
FY
20
06
FY
20
07
FY
20
08
FY
20
09
FY
20
10
FY
20
11
FY
20
12
FY
20
13
FY
20
14
FY
20
15
FY
20
16
FY
20
17
FY
20
18
FY
20
19
FY
20
20
FY
20
21
FY
20
22
FY
20
23
FY
2
FY 0 24
20
25
CE

0

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results summary. Estimate/forecast (CE) for FY2025 is from the Company’s plan.

19/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
While profit margins have generally increased with the rising proportion of
the profitable subscription businesses, a divergence in the trend can be seen
starting in FY2023 due to an increase in upfront investment (Figure 13).
As reference, the Company’s past initial forecasts and actual results over
the years were compared (Figure 14). Since FY2017, the profit results havetended to exceed the initial plan made at the beginning of fiscal years.
Note that past announcements of revisions to financial forecasts have often
been made in September or January to April of the following year.

【Figure 13】Long-Term Transition in Gross Profit Margin, Operating
Profit Margin, and Proportion of the Subscription Businesses
Gross Profit Margin（％）

Operating Profit Margin

Percentage of Subscription-Based Businesses

90.0
80.0
70.0

78.7
70.1

66.4

66.8

66.1

63.2

63.0

60.0

53.5

51.0

49.5

40.0

49.1

54.5

57.0

60.3

50.7

48.8

10.0

6.9

10.6
4.7

0.5

0.0

4.6

66.4

62.0

64.2

63.3

15.4

14.3

48.0

19.5

17.8
11.1

60.1
57.4

30.0
12.7

73.5

65.8
60.3

50.0

20.0

71.5

8.2

17.4

19.8

10.9

9.9

-2.2

-10.0

FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025
CE(Ref) Figures 13 and 14: Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results summary.
(Note) The FY2025 forecasts/estimates (CE) are from the Company’s plan. The new revenue-recognition
standard has been applied starting in FY2022 (CE).

【Figure 14】Comparison of the Company’s Initial Financial Forecast and Actual Results over the Years
Consolidated

Net Sales

Units: million yen
FY2001
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
FY2008FY2009FY2010FY2011FY2012FY2013
FY2014FY2015FY2016FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020
FY2021
FY2022
FY2023
FY2024FY2025 (CE)

Initialforecast
5,634
5,104
5,521
6,096
6,870
6,860
6,790
6,800
6,500
5,908
6,505
7,025
8,641
9,198
8,880
9,731
9,876
10,486
12,783
13,28012,447
12,927
14,70016,507

Actualresult
5,026
4,762
5,095
5,595
6,005
6,383
6,336
6,274
6,268
5,867
6,166
6,805
7,550
10,474
8,168
8,440
9,360
9,785
11,43914,266
13,30813,382
12,981
15,018Operating Profit
Initialforecast
1,321
1,294
1,141
878
806
56
284
453
242
165
645
825
1,478
2,034
1,866
1,100
1,445
2,357

Ordinary Profit

ActualInitial forecast
result
1,224
925
1,215
1,073
1,015
1,170
1,125
1,551
1,293
1,747
1,780
1,533
1,550
1,325
1,365
1,117
1,360
744
1,200
686
927
468
835
354
84
1,110
311
-179
483
40
272
432
187
807
669
1,248
842
2,781
1,499
2,314
2,055
2,655
1,899
1,288
1,132
2,309
1,478
2,391

Actualresult
1,227
935
1,083
1,181
1,565
1,783
1,582
1,391
1,181
797
724
501
383
1,138
-157
66
463
834
1,277
2,808
2,340
2,697
1,326
2,343

Profit Attributable to
Owners of the Parent (hereinafter, "net profit")

Initial forecast
589
653
769
1,059
922
812
809
714
519
381
29
141
283
131
51
425
588
976
1,358
1,192
639
925
1,656

695
533
576
682
915
327
852
644
680
436
411
75
181
604
-207
-93
160
441
906
1,816
1,668
2,367
883
1,611

Pink highlight: 2nd
highest record

Yellow highlight: 3rdhighest record←All excluding
this FY's forecast

Number of times revised upward:downward frominitial forecast (units: # of times)→

Operating
ProfitOrdinary
ProfitNet Profit

Difference from initial forecast

Actual result

Reference: Simple average of difference (units: %), calculated based on the longest period with data available for both sales & profits(excluding periods with loss and this FY) →Green highlight:
Record highNet Sales-15.5%
-0.2%
1.3%
-1.5%
-7.1%
-7.6%
-7.6%
-7.8%
-9.7%
4.4%
4.6%
7.5%
21.2%
-11.2%
-5.0%
-3.8%
-0.9%
9.1%
11.6%
0.2%
7.5%
0.4%
2.2%

-0.3%
11 ： 12

67.9%

40.6%
16 ： 7

Operating
ProfitOrdinary
ProfitNet Profit

YoY change in actual results-23.0%
6.7%
-2.2%
5.0%
4.4%
21.0%
19.0%
0.2%
-69.1%
2.1%
-7.6%
0.3%
1.9%
-20.7%-13.7%-13.2%-15.9%-34.8%-33.6%-38.9%-21.9%-21.9%-20.8%-41.9%-40.0%-80.3%
532.1%
356.0%
524.1%
290.8%
265.9%
328.4%
Revised down Revised down Revised down
-83.5%-75.7% Revised down
161.8%
147.6%
213.7%
25.1%
24.7%
3.8%
51.3%
51.7%
54.1%
88.2%
87.3%
86.1%
13.8%
13.9%
22.8%
42.3%
42.0%
98.6%
17.1%
17.1%
38.2%
59.8%
58.5%
74.2%
Ratio of This FY's Forecast to Last FY's Result ⇒11 ： 6Net Sales

60.6%
12 ： 10-5.3%-24.4%-23.8%-23.3%
7.0%
16.0%
15.8%
8.1%
9.8%
9.0%
9.0%
18.4%
7.3%
32.6%
32.5%
34.2%
6.3%
12.6%
13.9%
-64.3%-0.7%-12.2%-11.3%
160.6%-1.0%-13.6%-12.1%-24.4%-0.1%-15.7%-15.1%
5.6%-6.4%-33.4%-32.5%-35.9%
5.1%
-7.8%
-9.2%
-5.7%
10.4%
-31.8%-30.8%-81.8%
10.9%-24.4%-23.6%
141.3%
38.7%
213.6%
197.1%
233.7%-22.0% To loss
To loss
To loss
3.3% To profit To profit To profit
10.9%
980.0%
601.5%-272.0%
4.5%
86.8%
80.1%
175.6%
16.9%
54.6%
53.1%
105.4%
24.7%
122.8%
119.9%
100.4%-6.7%-16.8%-16.7%
-8.1%
0.6%
14.7%
15.3%
41.9%
-3.0%
-51.5%-50.8%-62.7%
15.7%
79.3%
76.7%
82.4%
9.9%
2.1%
2.1%
2.8%
5.5%

66.2%

47.1%

25.2%

↑ Reference: Simple average of all periods(excluding this FY)

20/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

6． Business Environment◆Trends of the Software Market
w Decreasing number ofsmall/medium-sizedcompanies (its current andpotential users) in Japan,
but the size of theenterprise system software
market is expected tosteadily grow over the
medium to long term.

w Software investment bysmall, medium-sized, andmid-tier companies is
continuing to increase.

w The DIs of small, mediumsized, and mid-tiercompanies have remained
positive and flat.

Number of Small/Medium-Sized Companies (potential users) in JapanThe number of small/medium-sized companies, or the Company’s main
potential customers, has been declining since they have been closing theirbusinesses due to the decreasing and aging population of Japan. On theother hand, companies and organizations have been working on rebuilding
or strengthening their enterprise systems, as they have been faced by anincreasingly serious labor shortage and have been working on improving
operational efficiency and financial performance. Although the number ofsmall/medium-sized companies will likely continue to decrease, we predictthat the size of the enterprise system software market will steadily increaseover the medium to long term with rising demand for software to digitalize
and improve business operation efficiency.

Current Situation: BOJ Tankan
In the Bank of Japan’s June 2024 Tankan survey, actual software
investment by small/medium-sized companies (on an all-industry basis) in
FY2023 was +20.3% greater than the previous fiscal year (of which,manufacturing +8.9% and non-manufacturing +24.5%), a significant
growth. Although the rate of increase is expected to slow down to +10.8%(manufacturing +25.3% and non-manufacturing +6.0%) in FY2024 (plan),steady growth is still expected to continue, especially in the manufacturingindustry. Mid-tier companies are also actively investing in software like thesmall/medium-sized companies, with +10.0% growth in FY2023 (+14.6%
and +8.7%) and +7.7% growth in FY2024 (+12.5% and +6.3%).
In the March 2024 and June 2024 surveys, business sentiment ofsmall/medium-sized companies remained flat, with no change in the recent
and future sentiments at +7 and +5, respectively (the DIs for large and midtier companies are double-digit positive, but also show no significant
change).

Market Size and Growth Potential
According to the “WHITE PAPER Information and Communications inJapan” by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the size ofthe packaged software market (excluding game software, embedded
software, etc.) in 2017 was approximately 1.1 trillion yen. With theincreasing digitalization and the shift to online activities, the B2B market
is most likely gradually expanding (our estimate for the annual growth rate
is +4% to +5%). We also estimate the current size of the enterprise system
software market in Japan specifically related to the Company’s business to
be approx. 500 billion yen. We predict its annual growth rate to be about
3% over the medium term.
w Market potential of cloudbased enterprise system
software in Japan is stilllarge.

In the U.S., the utilization of cloud-based enterprise system software is said
to be several years ahead of Japan. The penetration rate in Japan is about ½
to ⅓ compared to the US (source: “WHITE PAPER Information andCommunications in Japan” by the Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications, etc.). Therefore, there seems to be a large growthpotential. The cloud-based enterprise system software market may grow at
a high rate of about 20% per year over the medium term as it replaces a partof the market for outsourced system development and packaged software(on-premises).

21/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024◆Comparison with Competitors
w In the industry, companies

are moving toward acertain degree of
coexistence by taking
strong positions
depending on the user sizeor software function.

Positions and Main Players of the Industry
Figure 15 is an overview of the various positions and main players of theindustry, categorized by customer type. The players in the industry haveadjusted toward a certain degree of coexistence by taking strong positions
in different niches, segregated by the size of the companies/organizations
that are their users or the type of operation targeted by their software.
【Figure 15】Target Customers and Main Players of the Enterprise System
Software Market(Ref) Excerpt from past financial results briefing materials, partially edited by Alpha-Win Research Dept.

w OBC, MJS, Yayoi, OHKEN,
and OSK are its rivals.

The Company has different rivals for each type of operation targeted by its
software. Regarding its rivals among listed companies for its mainstay
accounting software, its direct rival is thought to be Obic Business
Consultants (OBC; listed on the TSE Prime Market; securities code 4733)
and its indirect rival is most likely Miroku Jyoho Service (MJS; TSE Prime;9928). OBC is the greatest rival since it has a similar product lineup andbusiness model as the Company.
In addition, the following private companies are the main direct competitors,
both for the on-premises and the cloud-based software.
・Yayoi Co., Ltd.: acquired from Orix Corporation (TSE Prime: 8591) by
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR); sales in the fiscal year ended
September 2023 were 25.14 billion yen (+13.2% YoY); net profit of 910
million yen; 978 employees; over 3.1 million registered users.
・OHKEN Co., Ltd.: the DAIJIN series are the main products; independentcompany; sales in the fiscal year ended December 2023 were 6.21 billion
yen; net profit of 1.05 billion yen; 348 employees.
・OSK Co., Ltd.: the SMILE series are the main products; wholly-owned
subsidiary of Otsuka Corporation; sales in the fiscal year ended December
2023 were 10.1 billion yen; net profit of 1.47 billion yen; 462 employees.

w The Company provides
high-quality products andservices at reasonable
prices.

The Company is characterized by its high-quality but reasonably priced
products and services.

w Its flagship product, or theaccounting software, has
the third largest share in
the market.

The accounting software market size is estimated to be approx. 200 billion
yen. The market is reaching maturity, and its size has stayed mostly flatover the recent years. In this market, the Company is estimated to be thirdfrom the top (market share of about 10%). It also seems to have a similarlevel of market share and position with its payroll and HR software.

22/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
In addition to the above, in the cloud accounting market, its maincompetitors among listed companies are Money Forward (TSE Prime 3994;
providing cloud services such as household accounting application for
individuals and accounting software for companies) and freee (TSE Growth4478; providing ERP services and cloud accounting software for small
businesses). These companies mainly target one-person businesses andsmall companies such as small/medium-sized companies and SOHOs, sothey compete with the Company only in specific segments.

w In addition to OBC, also
partially competing with
Money Forward, freee, andYayoi in the cloud-based
accounting software
business.

Comparison of Profitability of the Three Competing, Listed
Companies
A comparison of the long-term transition in gross profit margin andoperating profit margin of the three competing, listed companies (theCompany, OBC, and MJS) is shown in Figures 16 and 17. Compared to theCompany, both margins are stable for OBC and MJS. This is most likely
due to the difference in the business model, sales composition, and scaleadvantage (sales of OBC and MJS are about 2.8x and 2.9x greater than the
Company, respectively, and similarly their operating profit is about 9.1x
and 2.6x greater, respectively, according to last fiscal year’s results).

w Profit margins and asset
efficiency are improving.

Both competitors used to have a lower subscription rate for maintenancesupport but have succeeded in raising this rate strategically, resulting in agreater earning power. However, through its focus on the subscription
business, the Company’s profit margins have also been improving and【Figure 16】Long-Term Transition in the Gross becoming stable in recent years excluding the periods of decline following
Profit Margin of the Three Major Listed an event-driven high demand.
Companies (PCA, OBC, and MJS)
PCA
OBC
MJS
The transition in the Company’s ROA and ROE, shown in Figure 18,
indicates that they have been largely improving in recent years due to profit
growth. They also increased in FY2024 due to significant profit growth, but
the Company’s ROA and ROE were 7.3% and 8.9%, respectively, falling
below OBC’s 10.5% and 9.6% and MJS’s 13.7% and 16.6%.
（％）

90.0
85.0
80.0

83.4

84.2

84.0

66.4

66.8

66.1

65.9

65.0

84.4

84.7

83.7

84.3

84.8

84.4

84.0

82.5

83.9

83.8

82.6

81.9

81.9

64.2

63.3

79.0

75.0
70.0

70.1

65.0
60.0
55.0

59.5

61.8

64.4

63.0 64.0

63.2

62.3

65.2 66.3 66.3

65.8

63.6

62.1

62.0

60.3
60.3

57.0
54.5

53.5

60.1

57.8

61.8 61.8

60.9

64.0

51.0

50.0

As reference, the overview of the three companies is compared in Figure
19 on page 24.

45.0
40.0
FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025
CE(Ref) Figures 16-18: Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the securities reports.
Estimates/forecasts (CE) are from the companies’ plans.

【Figure 17】Long-Term Transition in the Operating
Profit Margin of the Three Major Listed Companies(PCA, OBC, and MJS)
PCA

（％）

50.0

46.7

45.6

40.9

43.4 45.0

43.2

OBC

41.7

42.7

41.4

43.2

44.2

47.1

43.6

44.7

44.8

6.0

10.0
4.3
0.0

12.7

11.1

10.3

10.9

10.8

11.3

12.9

8.2

6.2
8.0

6.9

15.6 16.3

4.6

10.6

16.5
14.7
10.9

17.4

13.3

19.8

4.0
14.7

13.1

13.9

14.8

15.4

14.3

9.9

0.5

4.7
-2.2

-10.0
FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025
CE

2.0
0.0
-2.0
-4.0

11.4
10.0

13.0

8.8

7.8

7.2
5.8

5.2

6.3

4.8
3.5

4.0

4.0
0.7

2.6
1.7

2.9

5.2

3.9

0.4
-1.0
-1.8

8.9

9.7
6.8

5.1

8.9

7.3

4.5

1.5
-0.9

FY
20
09
FY
20
10
FY
20
11
FY
20
12
FY
20
13
FY
20
14
FY
20
15
FY
20
16
FY
20
17
FY
20
18
FY
20
19
FY
20
20
FY
20
21
FY
20
22
FY
20
23
FY
20
24
FY
20
25
CE

20.0

14.4
14.3

8.0

28.0

19.5

ROE

14.0

10.0

17.8

ROA

12.0

40.0

30.0

（％）

16.0

MJS
44.4

【Figure 18】Transition in the Company’s ROA and ROE＊For ROA, the ratio of ordinary profit to total assets was used.

23/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024【Figure 19】Summary of the Comparison of the Three Competing Companies
Company Name

PCA

Obic Business Consultants （OBC）

Miroku Jyoho Service （MJS）

Code (listed on TSE Prime)

9629

4733

9928

Development and sales of packaged enterprise system formainly small/medium-sized companies. Second-tier in theindustry. Taking a lead in cloud services. No. 1 in industry
in sales toward public benefit corporations.

Characteristics

Development and sales of packaged enterprise system forsmall/medium-sized companies. Became top-ranking in
Top market share (25%) in software for accounting firms.
the industry from rapid growth in the early days of the
Recently, also strengthening development/sales of software
OS W95, NT, etc. Highly profitable structure; largest
for mid-tier and small/medium-sized companies. Largest
player in the industry by profit. No. 1 in packaged
player by sales among the three companies.
software for financial accounting, payroll, HR, and labor
management.

FoundedAug. 1980

Dec. 1980

Jan. 1977

Market Listing

Mar. 1994

Oct. 1999

Aug. 1992

Sales Categories/Breakdown(PCA, OBC, and MJS: FY ended March 2024)

Sales Method

Number of Offices

・ Cloud Services 49.7%
・ Maintenance Service 23.8%
・ Products 8.1%
・ Merchandise 3.6%・ Solutions 14.8%

・Products 61.3%(Of which, solution technologies 52.3%)(Of which, related products 9.0%)
・Services 38.7%

・Revenue from services 37.3%
・Sales from system installation contract 54.7%(Software 29.2%)(Useware 15.5%)(Hardware 10.0%)
・Other 8.3%

20% direct sales; 80% indirect sales throughdealers/makers

Nearly 100% indirect sales through dealers, makers, etc.

Nearly 100% direct sales; toward ordinary companies,
mostly direct sales through referrals by accounting firms

13 sales offices; 2,000 sales partners

11 sales offices with customer service personnel; 3,000
sales partners

31 sales/support offices throughout Japan; accounting
firms acting as sales partners (referrals)

Number of Active Users (approx.)

200,000 companies

200,000 companies

8,400 accounting firms; 170,000 ordinary companies

Percentage of Maintenance Service Subscription among
Total Number of Active Users

Approx. 70%

Approx. 80%

Nearly 100%

Management Goals

2024 Medium-Term Management Plan (FY2023 - FY2025)
・FY2023: Net sales of Y13B (result: Y12.98B), operating
profit of Y1.4B (result: Y1.3B), and operating profit margin of・Focused on profit indicators. Maintaining or increasing
10.7% (result: 9.9%)
operating profit margin and ordinary profit margin while
・FY2024: Net sales of Y14.7B (result: Y15.02B), operating
increasing sales to continue to grow as a highly profitableprofit of Y1.4B (result: Y2.3B), and operating profit margin of company.
9.8% (result: 15.4%)
・Strengthen new sales by meeting needs (expansion of new
・FY2025: Net sales of Y16.51B, operating profit of Y2.4B,
sales and advertising strategy)
and operating profit margin of 14.3%
・Execute a strategy based on the cloud businesses and develop
・FY2025 Medium-Term Plan: Net sales ≥Y15B (of which,a customer success system (retain current customers)
subscription-based sales ≥ Y9.5B), operating profit ≥Y2.5B,
operating profit margin ≥16%, ROE ≥10%, DOE = 2.5%,
and dividend payout ratio = 30%

Business Strategy and Areas of Focus

・I. Establish a strong revenue base for the core businesses: 1)
Further expansion of the cloud business with enhancement
and expansion of PCA Cloud, 2) Accelerate the shift toward
Key Strategies
the subscription-based business model, and 3) Enhance
・Eliminate the difference in function compared to Bugyo V
customer success with digital tools.
ERP11 to begin targeting mid-tier companies
・II. Create new business opportunities: Applied research offundamental technologies including AI, finding and creating ・DX Cloud and meeting needs related to regulation revisions:
Cloud-based DX to support the revised Electronic Books
new areas of business, and launching the PCA Hub services
・III. Strengthen monozukuri (creation of things) with a focus Preservation Act and the new invoicing systemon safety, security, and anticipation of needs: Digital (support ・Up to Cloud: Conversion to Bugyo 11 (subscription service)
following the end of support for Bugyo 10 (at the end of April
DX of operations), Service (quick service development and2024 → extended to the end of Dec. 2024)
release based on user-oriented approach), and Modern(strengthen development system, expand the PCA Hub series, ・V ERP SaaS: Release Bugyo V ERP Cloud, a SaaS for midand modernize in the area of enterprise systems).
tier companies
・IV. Strengthen the management foundation toward a high- ・Price strategy: Revise prices to adapt to changes in the
profit structure: Build and leverage the foundation for DX
external environment, including global conditions
acceleration, strengthen IT governance and security, andbuild a system that enables active engagement by a diverse
workforce.
・13 types for the flagship Bugyo series
・Bugyo Cloud Series: Bugyo Cloud (enterprise software forback-office operations) and Bugyo Cloud Edge (for front-office
operations)・Total of approx. 60-80 types by product name, including
other software
・Development focused on Microsoft's platform for both onpremises and cloud services

Main Types of Enterprise System Software or the Number ・Approx. 26 types (by name of product; includes options)・Originally developed with in-house platformof Provided Products (approx.) or Services

Formulated the Medium-Term Management Plan Vision 2028
(FY2025 - FY2029)
・FY2025: Net sales of Y45.5B, ordinary profit of Y6.75B, andordinary profit margin of 14.8%.
・FY2029: Net sales of Y60.0B, ordinary profit of Y12.0B,
ordinary profit margin of 20%, and ROE of 18%
・Integrated DX Platform Business: Expand contents ofHirameki7 and increase the proportion of paid services.
・Group companies: Maximize group synergies by defining theirpositions and roles within the Group (contribution to businessperformance, upfront investment, reinforcement of groupdevelopment structure, etc.)
・MJS stand-alone: ambitiously acquire new customers throughadvanced, one-stop solutions and DX consulting; develop andpromote sales of SaaS-type ERP products and shift to a
subscription-type business model to maximize customer lifetime
value through customer success.

・ "No. 1 in accounting firm network" strategy
・ "Comprehensive solution business for mid-tier andsmall/mid-sized companies" strategy
・ Integrated DX platform strategy (new biz area)
・ Shift to cloud/subscription biz model
・ Promote individual growth of group companies
through group-wide coordination enhancement
・ Build HR and management foundation to accelerate
strategy execution

・1 module for accounting firms
・6 modules for ordinary companies(each module contains software for several operation
types)

Sales (million yen): FY2025 CE

16,50748,00045,500Gross Profit Margin (%): FY2025 CE

63.3

81.9

Not disclosed

Operating Profit (million yen): FY2025 CE

2,357

21,5006,740

Operating Profit Margin (%): FY2025 CE

14.3

44.8

14.8

EPS (FY2025 CE), YoY (%)

2.8

12.3

4.7

DOE (%): Result

9.0

4.2

5.9

Past 10 Years’ Sales Growth Rate (FY2024’s result divided
by FY2014's result: %)

43.4

107.1

99.2

Operating Profit Growth Rate (same condition as above)

108.0

105.8

155.6

Equity Ratio (%): Result

55.7

75.3

58.0

# of Full-Time Employees in the Group: Actual #

672

1,266

2,168
21.0

Sales Per Full-Time Employee (million yen / person)

24.6

37.9

Operating Profit Per Full-Time Employee (million yen / person)

3.5

17.0

3.1

ROE (%): Result

A=B×C×D

8.9

9.6

16.6
9.6

B

10.7

33.0

Total Asset Turnover Ratio (sales / ave. total asset)
C
Financial Leverage (ave. total asset / ave. owner's equity)
D
ROA (ordinary profit / total asset) (%)
E=F×G

0.5

0.2

1.0

1.8

1.3

1.80

7.3

10.5

13.7

Ordinary Profit Margin (%): Result

F

15.6

47.4

14.3

Total Asset Turnover Ratio (sales / ave. total asset)

G

0.5

0.2

1.0

Net Profit Margin (net profit / sales) (%)（Ref) Prepared by Alpha Win Research Department based on financial results summaries and securities reports. Forecasts are company plans.
Italics indicate the company forecasts for FY2025, and the rest are actual results of FY2024.

24/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

7．Last Fiscal Year’s Results and This Fiscal

Year’s Forecast◆ Financial Results for FY2024 (last fiscal year)
Summary
Consolidated results for FY2024 were as follows: net sales of 15,018
million yen (+15.7% YoY), operating profit of 2,309 million yen (+79.2%
YoY), ordinary profit of 2,343 million yen (+76.6% YoY), and net profitof 1,611 million yen (+82.5% YoY). Significant increases in sales andprofits were posted (Figure 20).

w Previous fiscal year's
results: significant increasein sales, profits, anddividends【Figure 20】Financial Results for FY2024(Units: million yen, %)Full-Year Results

FY2023

FY2024

Difference% Change

FY2024

Result - Plan

Result/Plan

FY2024

Result - Forecast

Result/Forecast

FY2024

Units: million yen

Results

Results

YoY:
million yen

YoY: %

Revised Company
Forecast

Diff: million
yen

Diff: %

Alpha-Win's
Forecast

Diff: million yen

Diff: %

Initial Company
Forecast

14,850
9,122
61.4
7,293
49.1
1,829
12.3
1,235
8.3

168
480
3.1
376
2.4

14,950
9,300
62.2
7,300
48.8
2,000
13.4
1,300
8.7

68
336
2.0
26
0.0
309
2.0
311
2.0

Consolidated Net Sales
Gross Profit
Gross Profit Margin (%)
SG&A Expenses
SG&A Expense Ratio (%)
Operating Profit
Operating Profit Margin (%)
Net Profit
Net Profit Margin (%)

12,981
8,051
62.0
6,763
52.1
1,288
9.9
883
6.8

15,018
9,636
64.2
7,326
48.8
2,309
15.4
1,611
10.7

2,037
1,585
2.1
563
-3.3
1,021
5.5
728
3.9

15.7
19.7
8.3
79.3
82.4

1.1
26.2
30.4

0.5
3.6
0.4
15.5
23.9

14,700
8,797
59.8
7,351
50.0
1,445
9.8
925
6.3

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results summary. The Company’s plan and Alpha-Win’s forecasts are themost recent forecasts.

w Net sales were in line with
the Company’s forecast,while profits weresignificantly higher.

w Profits also exceeded ourforecasts by double-digit
percentages.

w Double-digit increase in
net sales due to highgrowth of cloud services
and the price revision.
w All four sales categories,
except merchandise, posted
higher sales.
w Revision of the Electronic
Books Preservation Act andintroduction of the new
invoicing system are
tailwinds, but their impact
on sales growth is limited.

Comparison with Forecast
The Company’s initial forecast was revised upward in December 2023, butboth sales and profits were even greater than this forecast. Net sales
exceeded the Company’s revised forecast by 168 million yen (+1.1% vs.
plan), operating profit by 480 million yen (+26.2% vs. plan), ordinary profit
by 476 million yen (+25.5% vs. plan), and net profit by 376 million yen(+30.4% vs. plan). Compared to the initial forecast made at the beginningof the fiscal year, net sales were 318 million yen greater (+2.2% vs. plan)and operating profit was 864 million yen greater (+59.8% vs. plan).
Compared to our forecasts, which were greater than the Company’s
forecasts, net sales were only slightly higher (+68 million yen or +0.5% vs.
our forecast), but operating profit was 309 million yen higher (+15.5% vs.
our forecast). The main reason for this difference is likely to be the decreasein provision costs associated with the recalculation of retirement benefit
obligations due to rising interest rates (which caused profit to increase by
170 million yen compared to the Company’s plan). In addition, net profit
was 311 million yen greater (+23.9% vs. our forecast), which is presumed
to be partly due to the difference in the estimated amount of income tax
adjustment.

Sales
Factors that increased or decreased net sales in FY2024 (previous fiscal
year) are as shown in Figure 21 on page 26. The increase in new demand
for the cloud services and the price revision made in July 2023 led to a
+2,037 million yen increase in net sales (+15.7% YoY). Key points of sales
by category are as follows (increase/decrease is YoY).
・All four categories, excluding merchandise, saw an increase in sales.
・Products: Sales increased by +73 million yen (+6.4%) as version upgrades
were stimulated by the need to comply with the new invoicing system(effective as of October 2023) and the revised Electronic Books
Preservation Act (January 2024). The impact of this new system andrevision on the annual sales growth of all sales categories is estimated to bein the order of several hundred million yen.
25/46

This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
・Merchandise: Sales declined by -45 million yen (-7.8% YoY) due to theshift to paperless, digitalized ledger sheets and other forms, but the decline
was within the Company’s expectations.
・Maintenance Service: Sales grew solidly by +240 million yen (+7.2%
YoY) due to an increase in on-premises products and the price revision.
・Cloud Services: Sales increased by +1,510 million yen (+25.4% YoY) due
to an increase in new demand as the shift to cloud services progressed inline with digitalization, as well as the price revision which had a significant
positive impact on sales. It represented 74% of the Company’s overall
amount of sales growth, contributing the most to the sales growth.
・Solutions and Others (other operating revenue): Sales increased by +258
million yen (+13.1% YoY) due to an increase in purchase and sales of othercompanies’ products, as well as an increase in revenue from theprofessional support service in line with the increase in the cloud services
and on-premises.

w Maintenance services are
performing solidly.

w Continued growth of thecloud services

w Solutions also recovered.

【Figure 21】Each Sales Category’s Impact on Sales in FY2024 (last fiscal year)(Million yen)

Increase

16,000Decrease

15,500+25.4%

15,0001,510+13.1%

258

15,018

Solutions andOthers

FY2024

14,50014,000

+6.4%

+7.2%

13,50073

240

13,00012,981-45

12,500-7.8%

12,00011,50011,000
FY2023

Products

Merchandise

Main tenanceCloud(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. from the financial results materials (Note) Percentages in the Figure are YoY changes.

w The number of corporate
users of the cloud services
is increasing steadily.

w The number of corporate
users is increasing at a
slower pace than in thepast, but a high net growthrate is maintained.

w Cloud services’ sales
growth accelerated to +25%
in the previous fiscal year,
partly due to the pricerevision.
w Cloud services are thelargest sales category. The
category accounts for about
half of net sales.

Cloud
The number of corporate users of PCA Cloud reached 10,000 on January
11, 2018. The number has then been increasing from 12,070 at the end of
March 2019 to 14,327 at the end of March 2020 (+2,257 YoY), 16,444 atof the end of March 2021 (+2,117 YoY), 19,152 at the end of March 2022(+2,708 YoY; the largest net increase ever), 21,022 at the end of March2023 (+1,870 YoY), and 22,899 at the end of March 2024 (+1,877 YoY)
(Figure 8 on page 13 and Figure 22 on page 27; the goal for the meantime
is to achieve 80,000 corporate users).
In the last two fiscal years, the net increase in the number of corporate users
has been below 2,000, but the number of corporate users is continuing togrow at a high pace. The monthly rate of net increase has not changed in
the current fiscal year, and the Company hopes to maintain the net growthin the number of corporate users at about 1,800 to 2,000 companies per year
for the meanwhile.
The cloud’s sales have been increasing from 2,452 million yen in FY2019(+598 million yen or +32.3% YoY) to 3,374 million yen in FY2020 (+922
million yen or +37.6% YoY), 4,057 million yen in FY2021 (+683 million
yen or + 20.2% YoY), 5,568 million yen in FY2022 (+1,511 million yen or+ 37.2% YoY), 5,956 million yen in FY2023 (the fiscal year before theprevious; +388 million yen or + 7.0% YoY), and 7,467 million yen in
FY2024 (previous fiscal year; +1,511 million yen or +25.4% YoY). Salesof the cloud services were the largest by sales category, accounting for
49.7% of net sales.
26/46

This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
Since the cloud’s sales include PCA Hub and PCA Subscription, a simple
comparison cannot be made, but the annual sales per corporate user (=annual sales / average number of corporate users of the PCA Cloud during
the fiscal year; units of thousand yen per company per year) have been
increasing during this period. There was a significant increase in theprevious fiscal year due to the price revision (Figure 22).

w Upward trend for the
average price per corporate
user. Significant increasein the previous fiscal year
due to the price revision.
w On a quarterly basis, too,
the net increase in thenumber of corporate users,
sales, and average unit
price are all on an upward
trend.

Regarding PCA Cloud, the key driver of performance, its quarterly net
increase in the number of corporate users, quarterly sales, and (thequarterly estimate of) the average unit price are all on an upward trend(Figure 23).

【Figure 22】Change in the Number of Corporate Users and Sales of the Cloud Services (yearly change)
Fiscal Year

Number of
Corporate Users of
the Cloud Service

Cloud Services'
Sales

Number of Corporate Users(companies)

Units: companies

Units: million yen% Change(YoY)

Sales (million yen)

Change in
Number (YoY)% Change(YoY)

Amount of
Change (YoY)

Average Annual
Unit Price

Average Monthly
Unit Price

Thousand yen/
company/year

Thousand yen/
company/month

FY201912,070

2,452

15.0

1,570

32.3

598

217

18

FY202014,327

3,374

18.7

2,257

37.6

922

256

21

FY2021

16,444

4,057

14.8

2,117

20.2

683

264

22

FY2022

19,152

5,568

16.5

2,708

37.2

1,511

313

26

FY202321,022

5,956

9.8

1,870

7.0

388

297

25

FY202422,899

7,467

8.9

1,877

25.4

1,511

340

28

9,642

ー

ー

29.1

2,175

ー

ー

FY2025 CE

Not disclosed(Ref) Figures 22 and 23 were prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results materials(Note) Average unit price was calculated by dividing the sales for the period by the average number of corporate users during the period.

【Figure 23】Change in the Number of Corporate Users and Sales of the Cloud Services (quarterly change)
Number of Corporate Usersof the Cloud Service: A
Quarter

Ended Mar 2021 (Q4)
Ended June 2021 (Q1)
Ended Sept. 2021 (Q2)
Ended Dec. 2021 (Q3)
Ended Mar. 2022 (Q4)
Ended June 2022 (Q1)
Ended Sept. 2022 (Q2)
Ended Dec. 2022 (Q3)
Ended Mar. 2023 (Q4)
Ended June 2023 (Q1)
Ended Sept. 2023 (Q2)
Ended Dec. 2023 (Q3)
Ended Mar. 2024 (Q4)

Cumulative Number of Users at
the End of the Month (units:companies)

Quarterly Change in the Number of Corporate Users (companies)% Change(YoY)

16,444Not disclosed
17,785
18,57819,152
19,441
19,853
20,40621,022
21,594
22,23822,72922,899

14.8
―
16.5
―
16.5
―
11.6
9.8
9.8
11.1
12.0
11.4
8.9

w The sales proportion of thesubscription businesses
has increased to about 70%.

w The balance of contract
liabilities has also beenbuilding up steadily.

Change in
Number (YoY)

2,117
―
2,523
―
2,708
―
2,068
1,828
1,870
2,153
2,385
2,323
1,877

% Change (QoQ)

Change in
Number (QoQ)

―
―
―
4.5
3.1
1.5
2.1
2.8
3.0
2.7
3.0
2.2
0.7

―
―
―
793
574
289
412
553
616
572
644
491
170

Cloud Services' Sales:
B
For Each Quarter(units: million yen)

1,076
1,255
1,340
1,449
1,524
1,361
1,499
1,512
1,584
1,616
1,827
1,933
2,091

Quarterly Change in Sales (million yen)
% Change(YoY)

Change inAmount (YoY)% Change(QoQ)

Change inAmount (QoQ)

14.0
31.1
35.1
40.4
41.6
8.4
11.9
4.3
3.9
18.7
21.9
27.8
32.0

132
298
348
417
448
106
159
63
60
255
328
421
507

4.3
16.6
6.8
8.1
5.2
-10.7
10.1
0.9
4.8
2.0
13.1
5.8
8.2

44
179
85
109
75
-163
138
13
72
32
211
106
158

Monthly Unit Price of the Cloud Service(thousand yen / company / month)YoY Diff. for theLeft

B (quarterly sales) / Average of A During the
Period / 3 months

%

26.6
26.9
23.5
25.4
25.0
25.5
25.3
27.8
28.7
30.6

-5.8%
-5.3%
7.5%
9.3%
14.5%
19.9%

Subscription-Based Business
The proportion of subscription-based revenue (total sales of themaintenance service + cloud services) to net sales, a key indicator for theCompany, rose from 66.4% in FY2022 to 71.5% in FY2023 and 73.5% in
FY2024 (previous fiscal year; the same order applies below). This isbecause the relative sales growth rate of the cloud services has been higher
than that of the other four sales categories. Due to the termination of onpremises product sales by PCA (stand-alone), this proportion is expected torise to 78.7% this fiscal year.
Also, the balance of contract liabilities (advances received for the cloud andmaintenance services) has increased steadily from 7,364 million yen at theend of FY2022 to 8,292 million yen at the end of FY2023, and then to
10,076 million yen at of the end of FY2024 (+1,784 million yen or +21.5%
YoY) (Figure 24 on page 28).

27/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024【Figure 24】Change in the Balance of Contract Liabilities (units: million yen or %)(Million yen)

Balance (left axis)

10,000% Change (right axis)

50.0%
45.0%

8,000

40.0%

7,000

35.0%

6,000

30.0%

5,000

25.0%

4,000

20.0%

3,000

15.0%

2,000

10.0%

1,000

5.0%

0

0.0%

M
ar
20
2
M
ay 0
20
20
Ju
l2
0
Se 20
p
20
No 20
v
20
Ja 20
n
20
M 21
ar
20
2
M
ay 1
20
21
Ju
l2
0
Se 21
p
20
No 21
v
20
Ja 21
n
20
M 22
ar
20
2
M
ay 2
20
22
Ju
l2
0
Se 22
p
20
No 22
v
20
Ja 22
n
20
M 23
ar
20
2
M
ay 3
20
23
Ju
l2
0
Se 23
p
20
No 23
v
20
Ja 23
n
20
M 24
ar
20
24

9,000

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results summary.
(Note) Figures for FY2021 and before are the sum of unearned revenue and long-term unearned revenue. “% Change” is YoY.

ProfitFigure 25 shows the factors that contributed to an increase or decrease inconsolidated operating profit in the previous fiscal year.

w The sales growth absorbed
all of the increase in costs,
including development
expenses andsubcontracting costs.

The increase in costs, such as other manufacturing costs (mainly
subcontracting costs; +372 million yen YoY), other SG&A expenses (+248
million yen YoY; increased headcount and system usage fees), R&D
expenses (+307 million yen YoY), and cost of the cloud (+129 million yen
YoY), were all offset by the increase in sales.

w In addition to the increase

The gross profit margin rose from 62.0% in the fiscal year before theprevious to 64.2% in the previous fiscal year (the same order applies below),
and the SG&A expense ratio declined from 52.1% to 48.8%. As a result,the operating profit margin improved by 5.5 percentage points, from 9.9%
to 15.4%. In addition, the increase in sales had a significant effect, resulting
in a significant increase in profit.

in gross profit margin, the
SG&A expense ratio
decreased, resulting in
greater than 5%
improvement in theoperating profit margin.

Since there were no major non-operating or extraordinary income or losses,
net profit also increased significantly.
【Figure 25】Factors that Increased/Decreased Operating Profit in the FY2024 (previous fiscal year)(Millionyen)

Operating
ProfitNet
Sales

Cost of Sales

4,000

2,038

3,500

Increase

Decrease

-372

-8

47
-129

3,000
2,500

-307

2,309
-248

2,000
1,500

Operating
ProfitSG&A Expenses

1,288

1,000
500
0

FY2023

Net Sales

Cost of Cloud

Cost of Purchase,
Etc.

Other
Manufacturing
Costs

Sales Promotion
and Advertising
Expenses

R&D Expenses

Other SG&A
Expenses

FY2024(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results briefing materials.
(Note) Amounts of increases and decreases shown in the Figure are the amount of impact of each on operating profit.

28/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
Quarterly Financial Results
Looking at the previous fiscal year’s results by quarter, sales and profits
increased YoY in all quarters from Q1 to Q4. Thanks in part to the pricerevision, sales increased by around +15% YoY in each quarter, and QoQ
sales growth was also maintained from Q2 to Q4 (Figure 26).

w Increased sales and profit
in all quarters, as well as
posting profits.

The Company also maintained double-digit operating profit margins ineach quarter. While it had posted an operating loss in Q4 FY2023 due to a
strategic increase in upfront investments such as development expenses in
preparation for future growth, it posted a profit in Q4 of the previous fiscal
year since the situation has normalized. In each quarter of the previous
fiscal year, the Company posted an operating profit of 400 to 700 million
yen.

w Maintained double-digit
operating profit margins ineach quarter and Q4
returned to a profit.

【Figure 26】Quarterly Change in Financial Performance from FY2022 to FY2024 (last fiscal year)
FY2022

FY2023Results

Q1

Q2

First Half

Q3

Q4

Second Half

Units: million yen(Apr-Jun)(Jul-Sep)

Apr-Sep 2021

(Oct-Dec)(Jan-Mar 2022)

Oct 2021 - Mar 2022

Consolidated Net Sales

Sales by Category

Products
Merchandise
Maintenance Service
Cloud Services
Other Operating Revenue

Gross Profit
Gross Profit Margin (%)
SG&A Expenses
SG&A Expense Ratio (%)
Operating Profit
Operating Profit Margin (%)
Ordinary Profit
Ordinary Profit Margin (%)
Net Profit
Net Profit Margin (%)

Full YearFY2024Q1Q2First Half

Q3

Q4

Second Half

(Apr-Jun)(Jul-Sep)

Apr-Sep 2022

(Oct-Dec)(Jan-Mar 2023)

Oct 2022 - Mar 2023

6,818

12,981

3,387

3,687

592

1,149

3,328

3,281

6,609

3,535

3,238

6,773

13,382

2,954

3,209

935

783

491

1,236

6,163

3,370

3,448

Full Year

Q1

Q2

上期

Q3

(Apr-Jun)(Jul-Sep)

Apr-Sep 2023

(Oct-Dec)

Q4

Second Half

(Jan-Mar 2024)

Oct 2023 - Mar 2024

7,074

3,888

4,056

7,944

Full Year
15,018

509

1,222

1,718

745

2,954

241

316

557

308

284

349

364

713

244

265

85

82

167

190

82

272

439

108

114

222

210

145

355

577

95

103

198

216

118

334

532

820

826

1,646

833

837

1,670

3,316

838

850

1,688

800

839

1,639

3,327

839

876

1,715

911

942

1,853

3,568

1,255

1,340

2,595

1,449

1,524

2,973

5,568

1,361

1,499

2,860

1,512

1,584

3,096

5,956

1,616

1,827

3,443

1,933

2,091

4,024

7,467

231
2,284
68.6
1,309
39.3
975
29.3
987
29.7
614
18.4

250
2,222
67.7
1,444
44.0
778
23.7
795
24.2
835
25.4

481
4,506
68.2
2,753
41.7
1,753
26.5
1,782
27.0
1,449
21.9

318
2,284
64.6
1,474
41.7
810
22.9
817
23.1
819
23.2

304
2,019
62.4
1,926
59.5
92
2.8
98
3.0
99
3.1

622
4,303
63.5
3,400
50.2
902
13.3
915
13.5
918
13.6

1,103
8,809

404
1,829
61.9
1,520
51.5
309
10.5
315
10.7
142
4.8

430
2,083
64.9
1,545
48.1
538
16.8
556
17.3
352
11.0

834
3,912
63.5
3,065
49.7
847
13.7
871
14.1
494
8.0

541
2,064
61.2
1,570
46.6
493
14.6
501
14.9
330
9.8

594
2,075
60.2
2,128
61.7
-52
-1.5
-46
-1.3
59
1.7

1,135
4,139
60.7
3,698
54.2
441
6.5
455
6.7
389
5.7

1,969
8,051
62.0
6,763
52.1
1,288
9.9
1,326
10.2
883
6.8

486
2,116
62.5
1,688
49.8
428
12.6
436
12.9
266
7.9

516
2,313
62.7
1,742
47.2
570
15.5
590
16.0
394
10.7

1,002
4,429
62.6
3,430
48.5
998
14.1
1,026
14.5
660
9.3

584
2,511
64.6
1,810
46.6
701
18.0
708
18.2
502
12.9

641
2,696
66.5
2,086
51.4
610
15.0
609
15.0
449
11.1

1,225
5,207
65.5
3,896
49.0
1,311
16.5
1,317
16.6
951
12.0

2,227
9,636
64.2
7,326
48.8
2,309
15.4
2,343
15.6
1,611
10.7

6,153
46.0
2,655
19.8
2,697
20.2
2,367
17.7

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results briefing materials.

Second-Half Financial Results
In the second half, the Company posted net sales of 7,944 million yen(+16.5% YoY), operating profit of 1,311 million yen (+197.3% YoY), andnet profit of 951 million yen (+144.5% YoY), exceeding its forecast (fullyear forecast minus first-half results) for both sales and profits (Figure 27).
In the second half, the gross profit margin rose significantly from 60.7% in
the same period of the year before to 65.5% and the SG&A expense ratio
declined from 54.1% to 49.0%, resulting in a significant improvement in
the operating profit margin from 6.5% to 16.5%. With higher sales, too,profit resulted in an increase of approximately 2x to 3x.

【Figure 27】Financial Performance in the Previous Fiscal Year’s Second Half
Second-Half Financial Performance
Results and Forecasts

FY2023
Second Half
Results

Units: million yen

Oct. 2022 - Mar. 2023

Consolidated Net Sales

Sales by Category

Products
Merchandise
Maintenance Service
Cloud Services
Other Operating Revenue

Gross Profit
Gross Profit Margin (%)
SG&A Expenses
SG&A Expense Ratio (%)
Operating Profit
Operating Profit Margin (%)
Ordinary Profit
Ordinary Profit Margin (%)
Net Profit
Net Profit Margin (%)

FY2024
Second Half
Results% Change

Oct. 2023 - Mar. 2024

6,818
592
355
1,639
3,096
1,135

7,944
509
334
1,853
4,024
1,225

4,139
60.7
3,688
54.1
441
6.5
455
6.7
389
5.7

5,207
65.5
3,896
49.0
1,311
16.5
1,317
16.6
951
12.0

Change in Amount

YoY: %
YoY: million yen
16.5
1,126
-14.0
-83
-5.9
-21
13.1
214
30.0
928
7.9
90
25.8
5.6
197.3
189.5
144.5

1,068
4.8
208
-5.0
870
10.0
862
9.9
562
6.3

FY2024
Second Half
Company Forecast
Oct. 2023 - Mar. 2024

7,776

4,693
60.4
3,863
49.7
831
10.7
841
10.8
575
7.4

% Change

Change in Amount

YoY: %
14.1

YoY: million yen
958

13.4

554
5.2
175
-0.6
390
4.2
386
4.1
186
1.7

4.7
88.4
84.8
47.8

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results summary.

29/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024◆ PCA’s Financial Forecast for FY2025 (this fiscal year)
Summary of the Full-Year Forecast
The Company has announced its full-year forecasts for FY2025 (the current
fiscal year): net sales of 16,507 million yen (+9.9% YoY), operating profitof 2,357 million yen (+2.1% YoY), ordinary profit of 2,391 million yen(+2.1% YoY), and net profit of 1,656 million yen (+2.8% YoY). Although
the Company expects a nearly double-digit increase in sales, it expects therate of profit growth to be modest due to upfront investments for the nextstage of growth (Figure 28).

w Expecting a double-digit
growth in sales and a small
increase in profit this fiscal
year.

In addition, to achieve the final profit goal, the Company may either
promote or suppress expenditure depending on changes in the internal andexternal conditions. Since this makes prediction difficult, the Company did
not announce its consolidated financial forecasts for this fiscal year’s first
half, like the previous years.

w First-half forecasts notdisclosed.

【Figure 28】Financial Forecast for This Fiscal Year (the Company’s plan and Alpha-Win’s forecasts)
Consolidated(units: million yen)

FY2025: Alpha-Win's Forecast

New RevenueRecognition Standard

New RevenueRecognition Standard

YoY: Diff. in amount/ Diff.

15,018
1,222
532
3,568
7,467
2,227
9,636
64.2%
7,326
48.8%
2,309
15.4%
2,343
15.6%

16,507
476
518
3,535
9,462
2,514
10,441
63.3%
8,084
49.0%
2,357
14.3%
2,391
14.5%

1,489
-746
-14
-33
1,995
287
805
-0.9%
758
0.2%
48
-1.1%
48
-1.1%

9.9%
-61.0%
-2.7%
-0.9%
26.7%
12.9%
8.4%

2.8%

Net Sales
Products
Merchandise

Sales byCategory

FY2025: Company Forecast

FY2024Maintenance Service
Cloud Services
Other Operating Revenue

Gross Profit
Gross Profit Margin

SG&A Expenses
SG&A Expense Ratio

Operating Profit
Operating Profit Margin

Ordinary Profit
Ordinary Profit Margin
Profit Attributable to Owners of the
ParentNet Profit Margin
Annual Dividend Per Share (yen)

1,611

1,656

45

10.7%
81.00

10.0%
83.00

-0.7%
2.00

YoY: % change

10.3%
2.1%
2.1%

New Revenue-Recognition
Standard

YoY: Diff. in amount /Diff.

16,500
480
520
3,500
9,500
2,500
10,400
63.0%
7,900
47.9%
2,500
15.2%
2,530
15.3%

1,482
-742
-12
-68
2,033
273
764
-1.1%
574
-0.9%
191
-0.2%
187
-0.3%

9.9%
-60.7%
-2.3%
-1.9%
27.2%
12.3%
7.9%

1,700

89

5.5%

10.3%
84.00

-0.4%
3.00

YoY: % change

7.8%
8.3%
8.0%

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept.

w Products' sales are expected
to decline significantly due
to the end of packaged
software sales.

w Continued growth of thecloud and solutions, aswell as the full effect of theprice revision, is expected
to contribute to sales
growth.

Summary of the Full-Year Forecast (Sales)
In the current fiscal year, the Company expects net sales to increase by
1,489 million yen (+9.9% YoY) compared to the previous fiscal year.
Products’ sales are expected to decline sharply by -746 million yen (-61.0%
YoY) due to the termination of packaged software sales (only Xronos’
products will continue to be sold). Because of this, sales of maintenance arealso expected to decline slightly by -33 million yen (-0.9% YoY). Sales ofmerchandise are also expected to continue to decline, by -14 million yen (2.7% YoY), due to the trend toward paperless operations.
On the other hand, due to the shift from the products to PCA Cloud and
PCA Subscription, a high growth of +26.7% YoY is expected for the cloudservices (Figure 29 on page 31). Estimated sales growth of the cloudservices is +1,995 million yen, accounting for 134% of the Company’s net
amount of increase in sales. In addition, the Company plans to actively
respond to steady demand for the solutions and others, expecting to increase
their sales by +287 million yen (+12.9% YoY). Sales growth of the cloudservices, as well as solutions and others, are expected to drive theCompany’s growth. The companywide price revision implemented in July
2023 will also make a full contribution to results in the current fiscal year
(in Q1 and also the sales growth effect that comes with a time lag).

30/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024【Figure 29】Change in Sales by Category and This Fiscal Year’s Forecasted Sales and Sales Breakdown(units: million yen, %)Cloud

Maintenance

Solutions

Merchandise

Products
YoY
Comparison(Million yen)

New AccountingStandard

Previous AccountingStandard
15,21315,01814,26414,0003,166

12,00011,436

10,000

9,358
8,438

6,000

2,069

1,767

854
1,639

955
1,740

4,000
2,000
0

3,026

3,098

2,516

1,954

563

988

552
3,701

2,975

13,382

1,985

439

2,954

2,713

439

485

532

1,149

2,227

577

3,518

3,316

3,535

1,152

1,496

1,854

FY2016FY2017FY2018

21.3%

99.1％

3,327
78.7%
126.7％

3,552
9,462

3,124

7,467

3,374

2,452
FY2019112.9％

3,568

3,471
3,109

2,514

109.9％
39.0％
97.3％

1,969

1,103

3,227

2,781

1,878

1,222
12,981

476
518

SubscriptionBased-Revenue

8,000

9,783

13,306

16,507

One-TimePayment-Based
Revenue

16,000% of Total

FY2020

5,568

5,568

5,956

FY2022

FY2022

FY20234,057

FY2021

FY2024FY2025CE(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results briefing materials. Sales forecasts (CE) are the Company’s plan.
(Note) Since the accounting standard for the posting of sales as merchandise or solutions had been partially changed in FY2020, adjustments wereretroactively made for FY2019 according to the new standard. However, for the two categories, there is no continuity with the years before
FY2019. Also, starting in FY2022, the new revenue-recognition standard, etc., have been applied, and the Company had announced its
sales forecast for FY2022 based on both the previous and the new standard. “% of Total” is based on the Company’s forecast for FY2025.

w Rising cost of the cloud, as
well as upfront
investments including
investment indevelopment, is expected
to be offset by higher sales.
w Gross profit margin will
decline and SG&A expense
ratio will rise.

w Operating profit margin
will decline, but profit will
increase due to higher
sales.
w Only a slight increase inprofit expected due toupfront investments.

Summary of the Full-Year Forecast (Profit)
Figure 30 on page 32 shows the factors that are expected to increase or
decrease consolidated operating profit (YoY) in the current fiscal year.
Since the Company will strengthen product development for the next stageof growth, such as the PCA Hub series, and since various costs will increase,the cost of sales is expected to increase by +683 million yen (YoY; labor
cost by +149 million yen, subcontracting cost by +140 million yen, and costof cloud by +280 million yen). As a result, the gross profit margin is
expected to deteriorate by 0.9 percentage point from 64.2% in the previous
fiscal year to 63.3% in the current fiscal year (the same order applies below).
However, gross profit will increase by +806 million yen (+8.4% YoY) due
to increased sales.
The rate of increase in the SG&A expenses is expected to be +10.3% YoY,
slightly higher than the rate of sales growth (+9.9% YoY). Consequently,
the SG&A expense ratio is expected to increase by 0.2 percentage pointfrom 48.8% to 49.0%. Regarding SG&A expenses, other SG&A expenses
are expected to increase significantly due to an increase in personnel
expenses as a result of increased headcount (+99 million yen) and anincrease in system usage fees (+311 million yen). In addition, sales
promotion expenses are planned to increase (advertising expenses: +188
million yen) due to advertising associated with strengthened service lineup
and the hosting of events across Japan.
As a result, the operating profit margin is expected to decrease by 1.1
percentage points, from 15.4% to 14.3%, but this will be offset by the profit
growth brought by higher sales. While sales are expected to increase by anearly double-digit rate in the current fiscal year, the profit growth rate is
expected to be at a low level due to upfront investments. No major nonoperating or extraordinary income/losses are expected this fiscal year either.

31/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024【Figure 30】Factors that Are Expected to Increase/Decrease Operating
Profit in FY2025 (this fiscal year) (the Company’s plan)(Million yen)

4,500

Operating
Profit4,000

Net Sales

Cost of Sales

1,488

3,500

Increase

27

Decrease

-280

3,000
2,500

Operating
ProfitSG&A Expenses

-430

-189

-26

2.357

2,309
-543

2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0

FY2024
A
ResultChangeA in
Net Sales

Cost ofACloud

CostA of
Purchase, Etc.

Other
A
Manufacturing
Costs

Sales Promotion
A
and Advertising
Expenses

R&D
A
Expenses

Other
A SG&A
Expenses

FY2025A
Forecast

Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results briefing materials.

Key Strategies for This Fiscal Year
The Company has set the following three key strategies for the current
fiscal year:
1. Respond to revisions in regulations
・In response to the revision of the Labor Standards Act (April 2024) andthe flat-rate tax reduction (June 2024), it will release compatible versionsof PCA Personnel Management and PCA Payroll.
2. Strengthen and expand the Hub services and promote back-office DX
・In addition to Hub eDOC, Invoice, and Pay Slip which are already inservice, it plans to release Hub Year-End Adjustment, Labor Management,
and HR Suite (a set of three services: Pay Slip, Year-End Adjustment, andLabor Management) this summer.
・ It will promote the digitalization of back-office operations bysmall/medium-sized companies.
3. Shift to cloud and subscription businesses
・The Company terminated sales of its packaged software in March 2024
(for products sold by the parent company; Xronos will continue to sell its
own on-premises products).
・It will aim to increase operational efficiency, profitability, continuity, andcross-selling and up-selling opportunities by concentrating its businessresources on the cloud and subscription businesses.
・Although on-premises sales have been terminated, it will continue toprovide support for five years until March 2029 (Figure 31).
【Figure 31】Termination of Packaged Software Sales (On-Premises) and Schedule for Future Maintenance and Support
End acceptance of renewals and sign ups
to the PSS membership package(maintenance contract)Mar. 29, 2024 (Friday)

Mar. 31, 2028 (Friday)

Last day of sales of the one-time-purchase,packaged versions
Also discontinued sales of new PSS membership packages

End support
End all support, including response to inquiries

Sept. 29, 2028 (Friday)

Mar. 30, 2029 (Friday)

End maintenanceEnd program modifications, including adjustments toregulatory changes.

Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial
results briefing materials.
(PCA Cloud)(PCA Subscription)

32/46

This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024◆ Alpha-Win Research Dept.’s Financial Forecast for
FY2025 (this fiscal year)
Overview
We reviewed our forecast for the current fiscal year, taking into account theprevious fiscal year’s results, the Company’s plan for the current fiscal year,
and the current situation (Figure 28 on page 30).
We upwardly revised our forecast for the current fiscal year’s net sales from15,800 million yen in our previous forecast (in the report issued in February2024) to 16,500 million yen, which is almost the same as the Company’s
plan.
w We reviewed this fiscal
year’s forecasts and revised
upward our previous
forecasts for both sales andprofits.

We also raised our forecasts for operating and ordinary profit by 100
million yen each from our previous forecast (operating profit: 2.4 billion
yen to 2.5 billion yen). We also revised our net profit forecast upward from1,460 million yen to 1,700 million yen, taking into account the Company’s
forecast for the corporate tax rate and other factors. Each of our profit
forecasts are somewhat greater than the Company’s forecasts.

w Our sales forecast is almost
the same amount as theCompany’s plan.

The Company’s sales plan seems reasonable. Although its estimatedamount and rate of increase in the cloud services’ sales are high, its forecast
seems consistent given that it reflects sales growth due to the fullcontribution of the price revision, the shift from the on-premises, the PCA
Hub series (increase in sales of existing products and introduction of new
products), and PCA Subscription.

w The Company’s profit
forecast seems conservative
and there is room for
upward revisions.

On the other hand, the profit margin assumptions seem somewhat
conservative, so we expect the Company’s profit target to be fully
achievable. In terms of profit, there are concerns about the rise in costs due
to continued, high levels of upfront investment in development andexpansion of the workforce, as well as due to inflation. However, we
believe that the current situation is within the expected range and that cost
control is possible.

w Risk factors include theimpact of macroeconomic
downturn on corporate
earnings and IT investment
sentiment.

w Risks are limited because
its main business is thesubscription business
which benefits fromdigitalization and changes
in work styles.

Risk Factors and Factors that May Cause Change
The main risk factor in the medium-term financial forecast including thisfiscal year is that the corporate users’ business performance and IT
investment interests may worsen due to a stagnation of economic activities
in response to a pandemic or other events, the depreciating yen, geopoliticalrisks, the subsequent inflation and logistics disruption, global recession, andrevisions of Japan’s loose monetary policy. These may cause the corporate
users to refrain from purchasing products and services or to postpone theirimplementation.
However, the current services of the PCA Group are centered on stablesubcription businesses and the Company’s businesses and operations havea high affinity with remote work and work-from-home. It also benefits fromthe digitization and work-style reforms of companies and the society. Also,in the current fiscal year, Japanese companies’ financial performance isforecasted to remain strong. Therefore, risks due to macroeconomic factors
are expected to be limited.
Other risks include the difficulty in securing sufficient human resources due
to labor shortages; increase in costs due to rising labor costs, personnel

33/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
expenses, and subcontracting costs; and a slower growth of the cloudbusiness due to intensifying competition with competitors.

w The challenge is to makethe new businesses andDreamhop profitable.

In addition, although presumably not reflected largely in the budget,
progress may not be made as expected regarding the new services such as
PCA Hub, PCA Subscription, the healthcare business, and hyper in terms
of providing these service, acquiring new customers, and promoting theirsales. Monetization of these new businesses will continue to be a key
challenge. In particular, Dreamhop seems to be continuing to post a net loss
(or perhaps posting a worse loss), and drastic business transformation will
be needed.
Other factors that may impact financial performance include new changes
in the tax and accounting systems and the end of OS support. The
occurrence of a temporary surge in demand before and after these events,
as well as the subsequent decline, could have a significant impact on the
Company’s business performance.
In addition, if new M&As are carried out, their acquisition costs (including
goodwill) and whether or not they are successful will also be factors that
may impact business performance.

34/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

8． Growth Strategy
w Long-term vision is tobecome a “Management
Support Company”
focused on the business ofproviding management
support to its corporate
customers.
w In the medium-term plan,
it aims to strengthen its
development capacity,
build its businessfoundation, and transform
its business structure forsustainable growth.
w Four priority measures arebeing implemented:
establishing a strong
revenue base, creating new
business opportunities,
strengthening monozukuri(creation of things), andbuilding the managementfoundation.

◆ Medium- to Long-Term Vision and PolicyLong-Term Vision
The PCA Group’s long-term vision through FY2031, when it will reach its
50th anniversary, is as follows: “By providing a greater variety of one-stop
services for corporate management and operation, we will become a true
Management Support Company that is focused on the management-support
business for our corporate customers.”
Medium-Term Management Plan
The Company has been creating medium-term management plans for threeyear spans and has announced a medium-term management plan (for
FY2023 to FY2025) that started in the fiscal year before the previous. Its
medium-term basic policy is to “transform the business structure and build
the foundation for continuing and developing stable businesses over thelong term” and aims to “optimize the company’s structure for creating
customer-oriented new businesses, products, and services ahead of changes
in the society.”
To provide total solution services centered on software, the Company has
identified the four priority measures I through IV, shown in Figure 32,
which it is currently implementing (for details, see our previous reportissued in December 2023).

【Figure 32】Growth Strategy and Priority Measures of the Medium-Term Management Plan
I. Establish a strong revenue base for thecore businesses
1.

Further expansion of the PCA Cloud2.

Accelerate the shift to the subscriptionbased business model3.

Enhance customer success with digital
tools

III. Strengthen our monozukuri(creation of things) with a focus
on safety, security, andanticipation of needs

II. Create new business opportunities

Ⅰ Ⅱ

1.

Applied research including AI

2.

Find and create new areas of business3.

Launch the PCA Hub services

Ⅲ Ⅳ

IV. Create a high-profit andsustainable managementfoundation
1.

Build and leverage the foundation for DX
acceleration

Service (service development / agile)2.

IT governance and security

Modern (browser-based)3.

Build a system for diverse talents to thrive

1.

Digital (Electronic Books Preservation Act)

2.
3.

(Ref) Based on the financial results briefing materials, partially supplemented by Alpha-Win Research Dept.

(17） DX: Stands for Digital
Transformation. Changing
lifestyles and businesses throughdigital technologies.

The priority measures have been developed generally based on the previous
medium-term plan. By first strengthening the subscription-based businessmodel centered on the cloud business, and then strengthening thedevelopment and service structure, the Company plans to support the DX17of the operations of small/medium-sized companies. In addition, it plans towork on its own DX and strengthen its management foundation such as
governance and structure to achieve sustainable growth.

35/46This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024◆ Management Indicators Set as Goals
Numerical Goals of the New Medium-Term Plan
The seven items below have been set as numerical targets for the current
medium-term management plan (the goals for the final year are for FY2025,
the current fiscal year) from the perspectives of business performance,
capital efficiency, and shareholder return (Figure 33).

w As numerical goals of themedium-term plan, seven
items have been set fromthe perspectives ofbusiness performance,
capital efficiency, andshareholder return.

The two items related to sales have already reached their target in theprevious fiscal year and are expected to further exceed the target in thecurrent fiscal year. The same is true for the two items related to shareholder
return.

w Two targets each for sales
and shareholder return areachievable, but the targets
related to profit and capitalefficiency are high hurdles
and are not expected to beachieved.

On the other hand, the three items related to profitability and capitalefficiency (consolidated operating profit, operating profit margin, andROE) are not expected to be achieved in this fiscal year’s plan.
Also, as discussed later (pages 40-41), the Company has announced that it
will strengthen its shareholder return policy. Therefore, it is expected tosignificantly exceed its targets for DOE and the dividend payout ratio,
which are the items related to shareholder return.

【Figure 33】Goals of the Medium-Term Management Plan, Their Progress, and Outlook
Goals of the Current Medium-Term Management Plan
(FY2022 - FY2025)

Record High

Goals of the Final Year of the Previous Medium-Term Management Plan
Initial Goals
Revised Goals
Results(as of April 2019)(Previous FY)

15 billion yen or more

16.51 billion yen

15.02 billion yen (FY2024)

13.38 billion yen

11.5 billion yen or more

13.5 billion yen or more

9.5 billion yen or more

13.0 billion yen

11.04 billion yen (FY2024)

8.88 billion yen

Achieve 6 billion yen

Achieve 7.5 billion yen

・Consolidated Operating Profit

2.5 billion yen or more

2.36 billion yen

2.78 billion yen (FY2020)

2.65 billion yen

1.5 billion yen or more

2.1 billion yen or more

16% or more

14.3%

For the longest period with data available:
28.5% (FY1999)

19.8%

10% or more

15% or more

14.4%
-

-

For the past 10 years: 19.8% (FY2022)
・Consolidated Operating Profit Margin

Capital Efficiency ・ROE
Shareholder
ReturnFY2025The Company's Initial
Forecast

Of which, sales of the subscription
businesses (maintenance & cloud)・Consolidated Net Sales

Business
Performance

FY2025The Company's Medium-Term
Plan

・DOE
・Dividend Payout Ratio

10% or more

8.9%

15.4% (FY2022)

2.5%

9.0%

-

2.9%

30% ⇒ 100% (changed)

100.4%-

20.3%(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results briefing materials. The plan was announced by the Company.
(Note) Values have been rounded to the nearest unit.

w 当調査部では、中期の年間利益成長率を 5~8％予想。

36/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

w We reviewed and revised

upward our medium-term
financial forecasts.

Issued: 7/12/2024◆ Alpha-Win Research Dept.’s Forecast of MediumTerm Financial Performance
We have added a new forecast for the fiscal year after the next (FY2027)
and prepared medium-term forecasts for the three fiscal years including thecurrent fiscal year (Figure 34 on page 38). For the current and the next fiscal
year, we have revised our previous forecasts upward.

Macroeconomic Assumptions
The outllook of the macroeconomic environment is opaque due to factors
such as geopolitical risks, the depreciation of the yen, inflation, and interest
rate trends. However, given that the risks of COVID-19 in Japan are
declining, we assumed that social and economic activities, corporate
earnings, and IT investments by small/medium-sized companies will besolid. At present, we do not anticipate any high demand related to tax
systems, accounting standards, and product or OS version cycles.

w We reconsidered theunderlying assumptions
for the sales of each sales
category and the costs.

w We expect the operating

profit margin to gradually
decline.

w The cloud and work
management software willcontinue to be the growth
drivers.

Underlying Assumptions for Sales, Expenses, and Profits
We reviewed the underlying assumptions for costs and sales by category,especially for the products, the cloud, and other operating revenue.
We continue to predict that the merchandise’s sales will decline as morecompanies shift to paperless operations and that the sales of maintenanceservice will also drop due to the shift to the cloud.
Profit margins will be positively impacted by the increase in sales of thecloud services (annual growth rate of about 15-20%), the improvement of
the product mix due to increased proportion of the cloud services’ sales, theshift to the subscription business model, and the gradual decline in the
SG&A expenses due to further streamlining of business. However, due tothe increase in various costs, we expect the gross profit margin to decline,
causing the operating profit margin to gradually decline. We therefore
expect the Company to increase profit mainly through higher sales.
Since the growth potential of the cloud services and the work management
software is high, we believe that they will continue to be the growth drivers,
absorbing the increase in upfront investments, sales promotion expenses,
and personnel expenses and contributing to an increase in sales and profits.
Also, if the Company could put its current new businesses on track (themental health business that it is struggling with, PCA Subscription, andHyper) and monetize them, they should be able to more solidly support thegrowth trend for sales and profit.

w We raised our forecasts forthe next fiscal year, inwhich we expect sales andprofit growth to continue.

w Next fiscal year is the firstyear of the next mediumterm plan. We expect theCompany to continue tomake upfront investments
for growth.

Forecast for the Next Fiscal Year (FY2026)
We have revised our forecast for the next fiscal year (FY2026) upward from16,800 million yen to 18,340 million yen for net sales, 2,550 million yen to
2,650 million yen for operating profit, and 1,550 million yen to 1,800
million yen for net profit. This represents an increase of about 11% in net
sales and 6% in profit compared to our forecasts for FY2025.
For the operating profit margin, we predict 15.2% for this fiscal year but
14.4% for next fiscal year (-0.8 percentage point YoY). As this is the firstyear of the next medium-term management plan, we assumed that theCompany will accelerate investment for growth.

37/46This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
Regarding sales, we expect a 20.0% YoY increase in the sales of the cloudservices, while the remaining four sales categories are expected to remain
flat or decline slightly. We also forecast a dividend of 89 yen per share, up
5 yen from FY2025.

w We expect the Company tocontinue to increase sales,
profits, and dividends inthe fiscal year after thenext.

Forecast for the Fiscal Year After the Next (FY2027)
We added a new forecast for the fiscal year after the next, or FY2027. We
predict net sales of 20,400 million yen, which represents a +11.2% YoY
growth, and an operating profit of 2,850 million yen and a net profit of
1,925 million yen, which both represent a +7% growth. The operating profit
margin is expected to somewhat fall from the previous fiscal year to 14.0%(-0.4% percentage point YoY).

w We forecast a trend ofincreasing sales and profit
due to continued growth ofthe cloud and otherservices.

Regarding sales, we expect the cloud services’ sales to increase by 18.6%
YoY, while the remaining four sales categories will remain flat or slightly
decrease, like in FY2026. For dividned per share, we forecast an increaseof +7 yen from FY2026 to 96 yen.

Forecasted Profit Growth Rate over the Medium Term
Since the cloud business (subscription business), which is the Company’s
core business as well as its growth driver, is based on a subscription modelwith a high marginal profit ratio, its sales growth is expected to directly
contribute to profit growth.
Over the medium term (the next three to five years from this fiscal year
onwards), we expect a nearly double-digit increase in companywide sales,
supported by an increase in the cloud services’ sales.
However, compared to the sales growth rate, we predict a somewhat slower
profit growth rate of 6-8% (annual average) since the Company is expected
to continue upfront investments for the time being to secure humanresources and increase development expenses, the rise in general costs due
to inflation has been greater than we had expected, and there have been
delays in the contribution of the new businesses to profit.

w Despite concerns about
rising costs and delays inmonetizing the new
products and services,annual profit growth overthe medium term is
expected to be 6-8%, driven
by the subscription
business.

The Company’s future profit growth rate will most likey be impacted by
the cloud services’ sales growth rate, as well as whether it can discover anddevelop new growth businesses that will contribute to earnings.

【Figure 34】Medium-Term Financial Forecast
Units: million yen or %Net Sales

FY2027 New E

FY2025 CE
Medium-Term
Plan
15,000

FY2024 Old E

FY2025 Old E

FY2026 Old E

18,34020,400

Maintenance Service

1,149
577
3,327

1,222
532
3,568

476
518
3,535

480
520
3,500

490
500
3,450

500
480
3,400

Cloud Services

5,956

7,467

9,462

9,500

11,40013,520

Other Operating Revenue

1,969

2,227

2,514

2,500

2,500

2,500

2,250

2,200

2,200

8,051

9,636

10,441

10,400

11,25012,3509,300

10,30011,050

62.0%
6,763
52.1%
1,288
9.9%
1,326
10.2%
883
6.8%

64.2%
7,326
48.8%
2,309
15.4%
2,343
15.6%
1,611
10.7%

63.3%
8,084
49.0%
2,357
14.3%
2,391
14.5%
1,656
10.0%

63.0%
7,900
47.9%
2,500
15.2%
2,530
15.3%
1,700
10.3%

61.3%
8,600
46.9%
2,650
14.4%
2,680
14.6%
1,800
9.8%

60.5%
9,500
46.6%
2,850
14.0%
2,880
14.1%
1,925
9.4%

62.2%
7,300
48.8%
2,000
13.4%
2,030
13.6%
1,300
8.7%

65.2%
7,900
50.0%
2,400
15.2%
2,430
15.4%
1,460
9.2%

65.8%
8,500
50.6%
2,550
15.2%
2,580
15.4%
1,550
9.2%

-3.0%
-61.1%
31.4%
0.3%
7.0%
78.5%
-3.8%
9.9%
-51.5%-50.8%-62.7%

15.7%
6.4%
-7.8%
7.2%
25.4%
13.1%
2.1%
8.3%
79.3%
76.7%
82.4%

9.9%
-61.0%
-2.6%
-0.9%
26.7%
12.9%
-0.9%
10.3%
2.1%
2.0%
2.8%

9.9%
-60.7%
-2.3%
-1.9%
27.2%
12.3%
-1.1%
7.8%
8.3%
8.0%
5.5%

11.2%
2.1%
-3.8%
-1.4%
20.0%
0.0%
-1.7%
8.9%
6.0%
5.9%
5.9%

11.2%
2.0%
-4.0%
-1.4%
18.6%
0.0%
-0.8%
10.5%
7.5%
7.5%
6.9%

15.2%
13.1%
-4.7%
5.2%
23.4%
14.3%
0.2%
7.9%
55.3%
53.1%
47.2%

5.7%
0.0%
-9.1%
-2.9%
14.3%
-2.2%
3.0%
8.2%
20.0%
19.7%
12.3%

6.3%
0.0%
-10.0%
-1.5%
13.1%
0.0%
0.6%
7.6%
6.3%
6.2%
6.2%

(ratio to sales)

SG&A Expense Ratio
Operating Profit
Operating Profit Margin
Ordinary Profit
Ordinary Profit Margin
Net Profit
Net Profit Margin(ratio to sales)

SG&A Expenses(ratio to sales)(ratio to sales)(ratio to sales)

Net Sales (YoY growth rate)
Products
Merchandise
Maintenance Service
Cloud Services
Other Operating Revenue

Operating Profit (% growth)
Ordinary Profit (% growth)
Net Profit (% growth)

FY2026 New E

16,500Gross Profit Margin

SG&A Expenses (% growth)

FY2025 New E

16,507Gross Profit

Gross Profit Margin (% YoY diff.)

FY2025 CE

15,018

Products

Category

FY2024

12,981
Merchandise
Category

FY2023

14,95015,80016,800

1,300
550
3,500

1,300
500
3,400

1,300
450
3,350

9,500

2,500
16.7%

-0.1%

8.3%

7,350

8,400

9,500

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. CE: the Company’s forecast/estimate. E: Alpha-Win’s forecast/estimate.

38/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

9． Analyst’s View
◆ PCA’s Strengths and Challenges
The Company’s SWOT analysis has been updated and the results are listed
in Figure 35.
【Figure 35】SWOT Analysis
・ Brand recognition and credibility earned over many years (major specialized player in the enterprise system software market targeting small/medium-sized companies)
・Firm financial standing (debtless management) and stable cash flow; ample cash & deposits exceeding annual sales; expansion capability (investment capacity including M&As) based on thisfinancial strength
・Growth of the subscription business based on continuous payment for service; capable of stably generating revenue (became a cash-cow business); subscription businesses constitute 78.7% of net
sales

Strength・ Strong and diversified customer base (240,000 corporate users in total); largest customer is RICOH (about 27% of net sales); second largest is the Fujifilm Group's susbsidiary (about 12% of net
sales)・Taking a lead with the cloud (top-level company for enterprise system software targeting small/medium-sized companies; expertise; more than about 23,000 corporate users of the PCA Cloud)・High barrier to market entry
・Very experienced call center staff and engineers (support capability)
・Rich product lineup with track record; capacity to provide and develop products and services both as on-premises and cloud services
・ Sales capability: sales network with sales offices throughout Japan (13 offices) and 2,000 partnered companies
・Relatively somewhat low profit margins
・Financial results susceptible to revisions related to accounting and tax laws, end of OS support, etc. (consumption tax, change in the name of the era, Windows version, etc.)

Weakness・Sluggish performance of Dreamhop (little synergy with the company acquired through M&A); delay in the contribution of the new services and products to earnings
・Absence of a major, next-generation, growth-driving product/service
・Domestic-demand oriented; overseas expansion difficult
・Increasing demand due to labor shoratage and the neeed to streamline operation (for business software in general); work-style reform (work management system)
・Potential to develop and increase the market penetration of the cloud service (toward small/medium-sized companies and mid-tier companies)

Opportunity

・New products (hyper, PCA Hub, etc.), new services (transition of on-premises to the subscription-based business model), and innovations in technology
・Development of HR businesses
・Revisions in laws and regulations related to accounting, tax, etc. (the revised Electronic Books Preservation Act, invoicing system, changes in Windows OS, changes in consumption tax rate, etc.)
・Emergence of an alternative as advanced AI technology becomes widely used, delayed product development, defects in products, etc.
・High competition (other companies catching up to the Company in the cloud business; risks of new companies entering the market in the low price range due to the emergence of new business models
or technologies)

Threat・COVID-19 outbreak/prolongation and worsening business performance of Japanese small/medium-sized companies due to the worsening global macroeconomy
・Contract termination risk and litigation risk
・System troubles, information leakage, and risks of natural disasters, etc.
・Rise in subcontracting, personnel, and development costs; risks related to acquiring, hiring, and retaining employees(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dep. Words in green indicate additions or revision made in this Report.

w Credibility and trackrecord built over many
years, customer base,expertise in technology,
ample cash & deposits, andfirm financial base are its
strengths.
w Also has a competitiveedge and top-level
performance with the cloudbusiness that it is taking alead. The cloud market has
a high growth potential.

w The challenge will be todevelop the next pillars of
new products/services.

w Business volatility tends toincrease before and after
events which cause
demand to surge.

Describing the strengths in more detail, the Company’s brand, products,
and services are well known thanks to its long years of service andcredibility. It is especially strong in certain areas of business (such asaccounting software for small/medium-sized companies). Its customers
also have high loyalty to its products and services, as there is little incentive
to replace enterprise system software. Additionally, through its
maintenance support and cloud services, the Company has established asubscription-based business model that is highly stable and has long-term
viability. It is leading the market with the cloud service, which has a highgrowth potential, and its competitive edge and top-level performance are its
strengths.
Also, it has a solid financial base with no debt and abundant cash anddeposits which exceed its annual sales. These are enhancing the stability,
reliability, and flexibility of business management.
On the other hand, looking at the weaknesses in more detail, the Company
has been searching for the next, new major products and services and forways to gain market share among mid-tier companies, but has not yet beenable to develop businesses that would create enough scale advantage likethe current cloud services. Regarding companies that have joined the groupthrough M&As, while the acquisition has been successful for Xronos, there
have also been several cases of companies that had to be sold early on
because the expected synergies could not be achieved.
As for the opportunities and weaknesses (or threat), we have seen in thepast that the volatility of financial performance tends to increase before and
39/46

This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
after periods of high demand caused by events such as the consumption tax
revision, the work-style reform, end of Windows OS support, terminationof support for the old product series, and product upgrades (however, therevised Electronic Books Preservation Act and new invoicing system did
not have as much of an impact as these event-driven high demand).

w Aiming for non-pricecompetition. Competition
with its competitors will bea key point.

In the cloud service that it is taking a lead, the Company is aiming for nonprice competition through product strength, service, and support.
Competition with major companies that have followed suit and with service
providers that provide limited functions at lower prices will be the key
points going forward.

◆ Shareholder Return and Shareholder Benefit Programw New capital and dividend
policies introduced, withnew targets for the EVA
spread in addition to ROE.
w Aims for an early
achievement of an ROE of
10% and a positive EVA
spread in the next mediumterm management plan.
w Introduced B/S management
to pursue capital efficiency.
Until the goals are achieved,
the Company plans to set theconsolidated dividend
payout ratio to around 100%.
(18) EVA (Economic Value
Added): Represents the economic
value added, calculated bysubtracting the cost of invested
capital from the annual return on
operations. A positive EVA meansthat the company is generating
economic value that is greaterthan investor expectations. The
EVA spread is an indicator thatmeasures whether a company's
intrinsic profitability exceeds its
cost of raising capital (= ROICWACC).
ROIC: Return on33％、
invested
目標配当性向は純
w(19)capital= NOPAT /2.5％が目(net assets +資産配当率はinterest-bearing
標 。 実 績 とdebt),
乖 離an
が大き
indicator of the efficiency of
く、中長期的には増配余
profits relative to invested capital.
地がある。
(20)
WACC: Weighted average
cost of capital, a weighted averageof shareholders' expected rate of
return (cost of equity) and interest
rate (after-tax cost of debt rate).
(21) Net Operating Profit After
Tax (NOPAT) = Operating Profit- Income Taxes, representing
profit attributable to creditors andshareholders.

Capital Policy
In its release on January 29, 2024, titled, “Notice Regarding Change in
Dividend Policy and Revision of Dividend Forecast (Dividend Increase),”the Company announced the introduction of the following new capital
policy and dividend policy (Figures 36 and 37 on page 41).
・The Company recognizes that achieving a positive EVA spread18 isessential to enhance shareholder value and, furthermore, to raise corporate
value. It therefore aims to improve capital efficiency based on the mediumterm basic policy of “transforming the business structure and building thefoundation for the continuity and development of long-term, stablebusinesses.”・ For the next medium-term management plan (2027 Medium-Term
Management Plan: FY2026 - FY2028), the Company has set new goals to1) quickly achieve an ROE of 10% and 2) achieve a positive EVA spread.
It will improve capital efficiency by incorporating balance sheet (B/S)
management.
・Until the above two goals are achieved, the Company will pay dividends
at a consolidated dividend payout ratio of around 100% as its newshareholder return policy.
The achievement of an ROE of 10% in the current medium-term plan (2024Medium-Term Management Plan) is expected to be difficult due to its
active business investment for the expansion of the subscription business.
The EVA spread (ROIC19 - WACC20), which has been newly introduced asa management indicator, had been negative until it turned positive to +0.9%
in FY2024. This fiscal year, too, it is expected to remain positive and flat
at a low level of around +0.9%.
However, although the concept of B/S management (use of funds) waspresented at the time of the release, no new specific measures to improveearnings to achieve the above goals have been incorporated since then.
Measures to increase net operating profit after tax21 (NOPAT) areespecially likely to be a key point. We look forward to further disclosure in
the next medium-term plan (FY2026 - FY2028).

40/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
Dividend Policy: Dividend Payout Ratio Raised to 100%
The Company’s basic policy had been to continue the stable payment ofdividend while improving the ratio of net profit to shareholders’ equity(ROE) under effective business management. Its policy had been to
determine the level of dividend to be paid based on a comprehensive
analysis of elements such as its financial performance and the dividend
payout ratio. Its standard for returning profits to shareholders was adividend payout ratio of 30% and a DOE of 2.5%.

w Its dividend policy used tobe the stable payment ofdividend at a dividend
payout ratio of 30% and
DOE of 2.5%.

For many years after its stock became listed, the ordinary dividend had
stayed fixed with no increase or decrease. Since FY2020, though, theCompany has generally been gradually increasing its ordinary dividend andhas also paid commemorative dividends (Figure 38 on page 42).

w Dividends have tended toincrease over the long term.
w In line with its new policy
to strengthen measures forshareholder returns(dividend payout ratio of100%), the Company
substantially increased
dividend in the previous
fiscal year. Dividends are
expected to be increased
again this fiscal year.

In line with its new policy of strengthening shareholder returns(consolidated dividend payout ratio of 100%), the Company raised its
dividend per share for the previous fiscal year from the initial plan of 17
yen to 62 yen during the fiscal year, and eventually significantly increased
it to 81 yen (+64 yen or +376% compared to the year before; a dividend
payout ratio of 100.6%). For the current fiscal year, the Company plans toincrease dividend to 83 yen (+2 yen or +2.5% YoY; dividend payout ratioof 100.4%) (based on the Company’s forecast).

【Figure 36】Capital Policy and Shareholder Return Measures (ROE and EVA Spread)ROE
2024 Medium-Term
Management Plan

6.0
4.0

12

2.0
0.0
0%

10 %
10
8

8.9

8.9

6

5

4

Achieving the goal is
expected to be difficultin the 2024 MediumTerm Management Plan

02024 Medium-Term
Management Plan

8.0

14

2

EVA Spread

10.02027 Medium-Term
Management Plan

End2023/3
of Mar.
2023
実績
ResultEnd2024/3
of Mar.
2024

実績

ResultEnd 2025/3
of Mar.
2025
計画
Plan

(2.0)

Quickly achieve 10%
in the 2027 MediumTerm Management
Plan

(4.0)

Plan

End
2027/3of Mar.
2027
計画

(8.0)

Plan

End of2023/3
Mar.
End of2024/3
Mar.
2023
2024
実績
実績

End
of Mar.
末
2028/3
2028

計画

Plan

0.9

The EVA spread
turned positive in
FY2024 but hasremained at a low
level

(6.0)
(10.0)

End
2026/3of Mar.
2026
計画

0.9

(2.6)

ResultResult2027 Medium-Term
Management Plan

Further improve the
EVA spread

2025/3End of
Mar.
2025
計画

End2026/3
of Mar.
2026
計画

End2027/3
of Mar.
2027
計画

2028/3End of
Mar.
2028
計画

Plan

Plan

Plan

Plan

(Ref) Figures 36 and 37 have been excerpted from the Company's financial results briefing materials and its news release (on January 29, 2024).
（Note) ROE and EVA spread for each period in Figure 36 are figures as of the end of March. DOE in Figure 37 is the ratio of dividends to net assets.

【Figure 37】Capital Policy and Shareholder Return Measures (Dividend Payout Ratio)

New

Raise Corporate Value

Previous
ROE

Goal
⽬標

Goal 1
Quickly achieve an

ROE of 10%

10%

Shareholder Return Policy
Dividend
配当性向
Payout
Ratio

DOE

30%
2.5%

Dividend
Payout Ratio

100%

Goal 2
Quickly achieve a

positive EVA spread

Capital Policyl Continuously raise corporate valuel Incorporate balance sheet managementl Improve capital efficiency by increasing
shareholder returns

Our Approach to Our Future Use of Capital

1. Reduce excess cash through investments that contribute to our
growth over the medium and long term
2. Improve capital efficiency by strengthening our measures forshareholder return
3. Keep down net cash and excess cash (or at least not accumulate them)

41/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024
The Company’s share price soared after the announcement of the newshareholder return policy, with the forecasted dividend yield jumping from
1.4% (forecasted dividend for the previous fiscal year just prior to theannouncement ÷ closing price on the release date of January 29, 2024 = 17
yen / 1,211 yen) to 3.6% (most recent; forecasted dividend for the current
fiscal year ÷ closing price on July 12 = 83 yen / 2,300 yen). The dividend
yield of 3.6% is the 320th highest (top 19.5%) among all 1,645 companies
listed on the TSE Prime Market.

w Dividend yield is 320th
from the top out of all 1,645
companies listed on the
TSE Prime Market.

In our previous reports, we had noted that “the Company’s business is acash cow, with cash and deposits accumulating year after year, and its
challenges are to improve capital efficiency, execute investment strategies
for growth, and develop businesses that will become the next pillars ofrevenue generation.” We positively view the Company’s decision to boldly
increase shareholder returns, as well as its clear demonstration of its new
management strategy to prioritize capital efficiency and its policy toeffectively utilize its excess capital.

w Positive assessment of theCompany’s capital anddividend policies.

However, it should be noted that the policy of maintaining a dividend
payout ratio of 100% is conditional, meaning that the dividend policy(target dividend payout ratio) may be changed when its goals are eventuallyachieved (when ROE reaches 10% and the EVA spread turns positive).

w Note that the dividend
payout ratio of 100% isconditional.

【Figure 38】Change in Dividend and Dividend Payout Ratio (reflecting stock split)（％）

DIvidend (right axis)

Commemorative Dividend (right axis)(Yen)

Dividend Payout Ratio (left axis)

300.0

100.0
281.1

90.0
96.0

250.0

80.0
83.0

200.0

89.0

70.0

81.0

150.0

60.0
50.0

132.0
116.9

24.0
47.8

13.3

30.9

10.0

10.3

FY2009FY2010FY2011

10.3

10.3

3.3
10.3

0.0
FY2012FY2013

FY2014

100.4

18.0

46.5

47.2

10.0

40.0

100.6

100.0

50.0

84.0

48.2

10.3

10.3

ＮＡ

ＮＡ

FY2015FY2016

23.3

10.3

10.3

10.3

FY2017FY2018FY2019

11.0

6.7
11.3
19.8
FY202011.3
13.6

FY2021

13.0

99.0

99.1

99.9

20.0

17.0

10.0

38.5
20.3
FY202230.0

0.0
FY2023

FY2024FY2025(CE)

FY2025(E)

FY2026(E)

FY2027(E)(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results summary.
(Note) Retroactively adjusted for the 3-for-1 stock split on October 1, 2021. Estimates/forecasts (E) were made by Alpha-Win.

Actual Dividend Yield Reflecting the Shareholder Benefit Program
As a shareholder return measure, the Company has a shareholder benefit
program in which Quo Cards are granted to shareholders based on thenumber of shares they own at the end of March of every year.
For example, shareholders with equal to or greater than 300 shares and lessthan 900 shares are granted 2,000 yen of Quo Card. Based on a stock priceof 2,300 yen, the actual annual net yield for a shareholder owning 300
shares is about 3.9% (at maximum) including an ordinary dividend of 83

42/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

w The actual annual net yield
including the shareholder
benefit program is high at
about 3.9% (at maximum).

yen (the Company’s forecast) and the shareholder benefit program (Figure
39).
Based on the same conditions, the actual annual net yield of its twocompetitors is about 1.7% for OBC (4733: Obic Business Consultants)(including its shareholder benefit program) and about 2.8% for MJS (9928:
Miroku Jyoho Service) (only dividend yield since it does not have ashareholder benefit program). The Company’s actual dividend yield istherefore significantly higher than that of its competitors.

【Figure 39】Shareholder Benefit Program and Actual Net Yield
Number of Shares Owned(greater than or equal to)(less than)Shareholder Benefit(Quo Card: Y)

Dividend: Y

Net Yield (maximum): %

300

900

2,000

83

3.90

900

1500

3,000

83

3.75

4,000

83

3.72

1,500

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept.
(Note) Actual net yield = (Dividend + Shareholder benefit program’s value) / Share price; calculated based on the minimum number of shares
owned for each range. Share price: 2,300 yen (closing price on July 12, 2024).

w Conducted a stock split in
2021 and a stock
cancellation in 2022. Stockprice has risen, so stock
splits are anticipated.

w 目標配当性向は 33％、純資産配当率は 2.5％が目標。実績と乖離が大きく、中長期的には増配余地がある。

Stock Split
A 1.3-for-1 stock split was conducted in May 2000. Then, for the first timein approximately ten years, it conducted another stock split (three-for-one)in October 1, 2021.
No stock splits have been conducted since then. A stock split is anticipatedas the share price rises and also as a means of increasing liquidity.
Stock Cancellation
In December 2022, the Company cancelled 1,100 thousand shares (4.8% of
the total number of outstanding shares before the cancellation) out ofapprox. 3,001 thousand shares held as treasury shares. After thecancellation, the Company’s total number of outstanding shares decreased
to 22,000 thousand.
In addition, 34 thousand shares of treasury shares were disposed as postdelivery stock-based compensation for its retiring director in July 2023.
As a result, the number of treasury shares held by the Company became
approximately 1,967 thousand shares (8.9% of the total number ofoutstanding shares).

w 目標は 33％、純資産配当率は 2.5％が目標。実績と乖離が大きく、中長期
43/46
This
Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented in
的には増配余地がある。
this Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024◆ Share Price and Factors that May Affect Share Pricew With strong financial
performance, share pricehas increased largely andhas been significantly
outperforming the TOPIX
over the past
approximately eight years.
w Positive reception to thechange in dividend policy
and dividend increase.
Share price soared andsignificantly outperformed
the index and competitors.

Performance
The Company’s share price and relative share price compared to the
TOPIX over the past approximately eight years are described in thesummary section (Figure C on page 4). Its share price has risen by approx.
6.1x during this period, significantly outperforming the TOPIX which has
meanwhile only increased by approximately 2.2x.
Also, over the approximately eight years since August 2016, theCompany’s stock performance has been the strongest among the threecompeting companies (the Company and its two competitors [4733 ObicBusiness Consultants or OBC and 9928 Miroku Jyoho Service or MJS])(Figure 40).
The Company has been especially significantly outperforming its twocompetitors and the TOPIX since the beginning of the year. This is because
the share price soared as investors responded positively to the Company’s
announcement in late January of this year of a change in dividend policy
and a large increase in dividends for the current fiscal year.
【Figure 40】Comparison of Stock Performance with Competitors
PCA (9629)

OBC (4733)

MJS (9928)

600%

w 過去 2 年間で同社株は、同業 2 社を大幅にアウ
トパフォーム。

500%

400%

300%

200%

100%

-100%

Aug 2016
Oct 2016
Dec 2016
Feb 2017
Apr 2017
Jun 2017
Aug 2017
Oct 2017
Dec 2017
Feb 2018
Apr 2018
Jun 2018
Aug 2018
Oct 2018
Dec 2018
Feb 2019
Apr 2019
Jun 2019
Aug 2019
Oct 2019
Dec 2019
Feb 2020
Apr 2020
Jun 2020
Aug 2020
Oct 2020
Dec 2020
Feb 2021
Apr 2021
Jun 2021
Aug 2021
Oct 2021
Dec 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jun 2022
Aug 2022
Oct 2022
Dec 2022
Feb 2023
Apr 2023
Jun 2023
Aug 2023
Oct 2023
Dec 2023
Feb 2024
Apr 2024
Jun 20240%(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept.
(Note) Stock price as of the end of August 2016 was set to zero upon creating the graph(reflects prices up through the closing price on July 12, 2024).

w In comparison with the TSE
Prime's average, its shares
are overvalued in terms of
P/E and P/B based on thisfiscal year’s forecasts, but
undervalued in terms of thedividend yield which is
high.

w Dividend yield is expected
to rise further to a high levelin the next fiscal year andbeyond, since dividends are
expected to increase.

Valuation
Comparing the Company’s current share price with the average of all
stocks in the TSE Prime Market based on the key valuation indicators, theCompany’s shares are overvalued in terms of P/E and P/B, but undervalued
in terms of dividend yield (Figure 41 on page 45).
Compared to the TSE Prime’s forecasted average P/E of 16.91, theCompany’s P/E based on its forecast is 27.81. Similarly, compared to TSE
Prime’s actual P/B of 1.45, the Company’s is 2,47, and compared to the
TSE Prime’s forecasted dividend yield (simple average) of 2.23%, theCompany’s is 3.61% (all based on the closing prices on July 21, 2024).
Based on our profit forecasts, the Company’s P/E is expected to be 27.1 forthe current fiscal year, 25.6 for the next fiscal year, and 23.9 for the fiscal
year after the next. Similarly, the forecasted dividend yield is 3.7%, 3.9%,
and 4.2%, respectively.

44/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024【Figure 41】Comparison of Valuation and Stock Performance between the Company and Major IndicesClosing price on July 12, 2024
PCA (PRM 9629)
Average of All TSE Prime Stocks: PRM
Average of All TSE Standard Stocks: STD
Average of All TSE Growth Stocks: GRT
TOPIX
Nikkei Stock Average

Stock Price /Indices
2,300
1,489.85
1,287.74
868.64This Fiscal Year's Actual P/B (at the end
P/E Forecastof quarter)
27.81
2.47
16.91
1.45
14.54
1.04
51.67
3.31

2,894.56
41,190.68

17.27

Dividend Yield
Return Since the(simple average)
Beginning of the Year
3.61
104.4
2.23
22.4
2.29
10.1
0.63
-2.5

1.54

1.75

22.3
23.1

Return Since
Apr. 25, 2024
32.1
8.7
3.9
5.9

Return Since
Jan. 29, 2024
89.9
14.5
5.4
-2.8

8.7
9.5

14.4
14.3

(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Dept. based on the financial results summaries and stock price data.
(Notes) January 29, 2024, is the date that the Company announced measures to enhance shareholder returns; April 25, 2024, is the date that itannounced the previous fiscal year's financial results; and the most recent share price is as of July 12, 2024 (all based on closing prices).

Comparing valuations with its two competitors, the Company is in the
middle range in terms of P/E, P/B, EV/EBITDA, and P/S, but isundervalued in terms of dividend yield, which is the highest among thethree (Figure 42).

w Compared to its twocompetitors in the industry
that are listed companies,
the Company's valuation isin the middle range, but its
dividend yield is thehighest.

Money Forward (TP: 3994) and freee (TG: 4478) are also the Company’scompetitors among listed companies, mainly in the area of cloud
accounting software. However, they are not reasonable targets forvaluation comparison since they have been posting net losses and paying
no dividend.

w The two competitors in thearea of cloud-based
accounting have extremely
high valuations.

Their valuations are extremely expensive compared to the Company interms of the comparable valuation indicators of P/S, P/B, and EV/EBITDA.
【Figure 42】Comparison of Valuation with Competitors
Company Name

Market where listed, stock price, and valuation

Company Forecasts for This Fiscal Year (full year)* PCA, OBC, and MJS:Forecasts for FY ending Mar. 2025
*MF: Forecasts for FY ending Nov. 2024
*FR: Forecasts for FY ended June 2024

Last Fiscal Year's Full-Year Results

Code (TSE Prime Market)
Stock price (closing price on 7/12/2024)
Market capitalization (million yen)
P/E (price-to-earnings ratio)
P/B (price-to-book ratio)
Dividend yield (%)
EV/EBITDA
P/S (price-to-sales ratio)
Net Sales (million yen)
Gross Profit Margin (%)
Operating Profit (million yen)
Operating Profit Margin (%)
EPS (company forecast): YoY change (%)
DOE (%): Result

PCA(consolidated)

Obic Business Consultants(OBC: nonconsolidated)

Miroku Jyoho Service(MJS: consolidated)

Money Forward(MF: consolidated)

freee(FR: consolidated)

9629 (PRM)

4733 (PRM)

9928 (PRM)

3994 (PRM)

4478 (GRT)

2,300
50,600
27.8
2.5
3.6
11.5
3.1
16,507
63.3
2,357
14.3
2.8
9.0

7,258
547,282
35.1
3.7
1.2
18.0
11.4
48,00081.9
21,500
44.8
12.3
3.8

1,971
68,603
13.3
2.2
2.8
6.3
1.5
45,500Not disclosed
6,740
14.8
4.7
5.8

5,622
307,230
11.5
155.1
7.5
40,750Not disclosed-2,898
-7.1
-

2,717
159,203
8.9
Negative
6.3
25,400Not disclosed
Not disclosed-

Equity Ratio (%)

55.7

75.3

58.0

31.3

45.4

Past 10 Years' Sales Growth Rate
Past 10 Years' Operating Profit Growth Rate

43.4
108.0

107.1
105.8

99.2
155.6

Results for the Most Recent Period*PCA, OBJ, and MJS: FY ended Mar. 2024
*MF: First half of FY ending Nov. 2024
*FR: Third quarter of FY ended June 2024

Past Growth Rates(Past 10 years: 4 ⇒ 30,380)(Past 8 years: 569 ⇒ 19,219)(Past 7 years: -834 ⇒ -6,329)(Past 5 years: -2,830 ⇒ -7,918)(Ref) Prepared by Alpha-Win Research Department based on the financial results summaries.
(Notes)・Market capitalization = total outstanding shares x market stock price [closing price on July 12, 2024]
・EV/EBITDA = (market cap + interest-bearing debt - cash & deposits) / (operating profit + depreciation + intangible fixed asset amortization, etc.)*Interest-bearing debt and cash & deposits are actual quarterly values. Operating profit is based on this fiscal year’s company forecasts. Depreciationand intangible fixed asset amortization have been calculated for the full year based on actual values (or the company’s full-year forecast).
・The companies’ forecasted EPS for this fiscal year (ending March 2025 for PCA, OBC, and MJS; ending November 2024 for MF; and ended June 2024
for FR) was used in the P/E calculations.
・BPS values used in the P/B calculations are the quarterly actual values of the most recent period (fiscal year ended March 2024 for PCA, OBC, and
MJS; first half of fiscal year ending November 2024 for MF; and third quarter of the fiscal year ended June 2024 for FR).
・Dividend is based on the companies’ forecasts for this fiscal year.
・P/S = market cap / sales [the companies’ forecast]
・The average value is used when a forecast is disclosed as a range.
・Past 10 year’s growth rate is a simple comparison of the most recent full-year result to the full-year result of 10 fiscal years ago.
・Equity ratios are based on the latest quarterly results (fiscal year ended March 2024 for PCA, OBC, and MJS; first half of fiscal year ending November
2024 for MF; and third quarter of the fiscal year ended June 2024 for FR).
・Fiscal years of PCA, OBC, and MJS are March-ending, MF’s fiscal year is November-ending, and FR’s fiscal year is June-ending.

45/46This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.

w 株主優待制度を、一部拡充。
優待を含めた実質年間利回り
は、約 3％

Alpha-Win Company Research Report
PCA (9629 TSE Prime)

Issued: 7/12/2024

Stock Price Outlook
Uncertainty remains in the economic situation due to geopolitical risks andinflation globally, and in Japan due to the prospect of higher interest rates,
a weaker yen, higher prices, and labor shortages.
w Domestic-demand-oriented
growth stock with highgrowth potential. The key
themes are cloud,subscription, DX, workstyle reform, and mental
healthcare.

However, the Company still has strengths and high growth potential in its
subscription-based businesses, which consist of the maintenance service
for its packaged enterprise system software, PCA Cloud, and PCA
Subscription.
It will most likely continue to be seen as a domestic-demand-oriented
growth stock which can benefit from the government’s promotion of thework-style reform, digitalization, and the expansion of the mental-healthrelated market.
The Company’s financial forecast for this fiscal year is conservative, so thedownside risk to profit seems small.
If the cloud business (including the Xronos’ work management system)
continues to be the growth driver and the new businesses eventuallycontribute to earnings, we expect that the Company will return to a strong
growth trajectory.

w Forecasting a continued
trend of increasing sales,
profits, and dividends inthe next fiscal year andbeyond.
w Considering the growthpotential over the medium
term, we believe that there
is an upside to the shareprice.
w Key points are this fiscal
year results, the profit
growth rate over the
medium term, the cloud’s
growth rate, monetizationof the new businesses andservices (especially PCA
Hub and Dreamhop),changes in measures toreturn profit toshareholders, and M&A.

We expect the Company to continue its trend of increasing sales, profits,
and dividends in the next fiscal year and beyond. The share price is also
expected to continue to reflect the fundamentals of the Company as its
business performance becomes confirmed.
Although the share price has risen sharply since the beginning of the year,
we believe that the Company still has an upside since the EPS anddividends are expected to increase over the medium term.
Going forward, the following will be the key factors to watch due to theirpotential impact on the stock price.
1.
2.
3.

4.

5.

6.

7.
8.

This fiscal year’s financial performance (especially profit) and results
Performance of the cloud business (changes in PCA Cloud’s numberof corporate users, changes in YoY and QoQ sales growth rate, andcompetition)
Financial performance of the acquired company Dreamhop (drastic
measures to turn to profitability) as well as Xronos (whose growth ishighly anticipated), and the sales situation of the PCA Hub series, thecurrent area of focus, as well as its contribution to profit
Sales situation of PCA Subscription and hyper after the terminationof on-premises sales, progress with the other new products/services,
progress with new business development, amount of upfront
investment, the business’ contribution to profit, and competition
Progress with achieving the current medium-term management planand details of the next medium-term management plan (businessperformance, medium-term profit growth rate, and the level of ROE
and EVA spread)
Shareholder return measures such as share buybacks, stock splits, andenhancement of the shareholder benefit program, as well as whether
there will be changes in dividend policy, including the dividend
payout ratio, after achieving the goals
Progress with the M&A and alliance strategies
New tax systems, accounting system changes, and end of OS support

46/46
This Alpha-Win Company Research Report (hereinafter, “this "Report”) has been prepared by Alpha-Win-Capital Inc. (hereinafter, “Alpha-Win”) on the request of the company presented inthis Report for the purpose of providing a description of the company. This Report is not to be construed as a recommendation or solicitation of investment. Contents of this Report are based on
information current as of the issue date and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant or represent that the information in this Report is accurate, reliable, complete, appropriate,or fit for any purpose and do not accept any responsibility or liability. Alpha-Win shall not be liable for any consequences including direct or indirect loss, lost profit, or damage resulting fromthe use of or reliance on this Report. Investors who read this report must make their own decisions on all investment matters and take full responsibility regarding their investment. Intellectual
property of this Report belongs to Alpha-Win and no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, cited, or translated without our consent.