Return to Shareholders

The Company positions shareholder returns as an important managerial issue and aims to maintain a total return ratio of 40% or higher with dividends as its base, comprehensively considering factors such as its business performance, investment plans, and business environment each fiscal year. The Company will pay dividends at the DOE rate (rate of dividends to equity attributable to owners of parent) of 3.5%. If its dividend amount is below a total return ratio of 40%, the Company will address the situation mainly through share repurchases. Equity attributable to owners of parent, which forms the basis of DOE, excludes “Other components of equity” that fluctuate significantly due to the impact of foreign exchanges and other factors, because the Company aims to deliver progressive dividend payments.

As for the interim dividend for the fiscal year ending March 2025, the ordinary dividend was increased by 10 yen to the previous fiscal year to 48 yen per share. The year-end dividend is scheduled to be 67 yen an increase of 19 yen from the previous fiscal year resulting in an annual dividend of 115 yen.