The company recognizes the importance of properly returning profits to shareholders, and our basic policy is to pay stable dividends while insuring a balance with internal reserves. Our policy when paying dividends is to do so twice yearly: a mid-term dividend, and a dividend at the end of the year. The Board of Directors is the body making the decision for dividend payments. In addition, as the Articles of Incorporation states, “The dividend of surplus, etc., shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 459, Paragraph 1 of the Companies Act, and unless otherwise specified by law, will be determined by a resolution by the Board of Directors” (from the Articles of Incorporation).
Because the business today is in a growth phase, along with strengthening our financial position and improving our internal reserves for further business expansion, we believe that making allocations for business expansion will lead to the greatest return on profits to our shareholders. Therefore, we will not be paying a dividend. Regarding our internal reserves, we plan to use these both as a source of financial support and for business expansion.