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Aiming at Sustainable Growth and Development for the Future
Establishment of a New Administration
The “once-in-one-hundred-years” global recession has caused the NEG Group to experience a sharp drop in sales in its core business area of glass for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and in many other sectors in the latter half of fiscal year 2009, ended March 31, 2009. Thus, the Group has been going through a very difficult phase. Although demand in the LCD-related field is rapidly recovering, it is anticipated that the business environment will generally continue to remain severe.
To confront these difficult circumstances, NEG has established a new administration, with Yuzo Izutsu (former President) taking over as Vice Chairman and Masayuki Arioka (former Director, Executive Vice President) assuming the role of President.
We continue to place great emphasis on cash flow-based management and are striving to achieve overall efficiency of our business activities. At the same time, we are also fully committed to “Manufacturing” and “Development for the future” and intend to improve corporate performance and achieve long-term growth.
Business Expansion based on Glass for Flat Panel Displays
The NEG Group has transformed its core business structure from one focusing on cathode ray tube (CRT) glass to a structure based on flat panel display (FPD) glass in response to the rapid growth in the FPD market, which includes glass for LCDs. Now that the Group has completed its transformation, it has entered a new phase of growth based on FPD glass. We are taking appropriate measures to supply products in response to the rapid expansion of our clients’ operations and to meet the shift in demand for ultra-large substrate glass and thinner substrate glass. At the same time, we are making every effort to augment and increase profits by pressing on with productivity improvements and cost reductions. In addition, with the aim of establishing a well-balanced business structure, we will be focusing our attention on expansion in other business areas such as glass fiber, glass for electronic devices, and heat-resistant glass.
Medium- to Long-term Business Strategy
The development of “post-FPD” products for the future is emerging as a new challenge for us. We regard the following fields as having growth potential: next-generation displays such as organic light-emitting (OLED) displays; energy from photovoltaic/solar thermal power generation and secondary batteries; new generation lighting such as light-emitting diodes (LED) and OLED lighting; and products for medical applications. We have acquired a number of vital core technologies such as material design, melting, forming, processing and evaluation, over the years. On the basis of the competencies in such technologies, we are actively promoting the development and expansion of our business for the next generation, utilizing skill for ultra-large substrate glass and ultra-thin sheet glass, as well as thin-film making, compounding, precision processing, crystallization, and other areas.
Promoting Corporate Social Responsibilities
Our active involvement in corporate social responsibilities activities can be seen on the fact that we place a specific emphasis on preserving the environment, employing people with disabilities, and contributing to local communities. We develop our business activities in harmony with the environment in accordance with the basic idea that “ideal manufacturing in terms of production efficiency and cost performance will be environmentally friendly.” We promote the employment of people with disabilities and are working to develop workplace conditions that make it easier for such people to go about their jobs. Moreover, we are continuing with our endeavors to make contributions to local communities.
Returning Profits to Our Shareholders
It is our basic dividend policy to continuously return profits to shareholders in a stable manner over the long term, without significant affects being exerted by changes in business performance. As we made efforts to return profits in accordance with the policy, we increased our annual dividend per share substantially by about 250% over the past four years. It is our intention to meet our shareholders’ expectations while taking our financial position into account.
Tetsuji Mori, Chairman of the Board
Masayuki Arioka, President