president's interview | ir | konoike transport-九州现金网

thank you for your continued support.

for the fiscal year ended march 31, 2021, the konoike group posted net sales of ¥292.3 billion, down of 5.9% year on year, and operating income of ¥3.9 billion, down 58.7%. these results were impacted heavily by the global spread of covid-19, which caused economic activity to stagnate and business confidence to deteriorate rapidly across the world. we expect our airport-related businesses to continue to face difficult conditions. decarbonization and other recognized issues in the iron and steel industry mean that the industry itself is at a turning point, and the konoike group is well aware of the need for major changes in our steel-related businesses.

under these conditions, we completed the final year of our medium-term management plan, building a solid foundation, during the fiscal year ended march 31, 2021. we have made progress in strengthening our foundation, but operating margins continue to decline and we have reconfirmed our urgent need to improve profit margins. rather than creating a new three-year plan in a difficult-to-predict economic environment, we decided to formulate a single-year policy for the fiscal year ending march 2022, focusing on improving profitability. we will focus on four areas: (1) improve profit ratios; (2) improve efficiencies; (3) strengthen competitiveness; and (4)cross-division collaboration.

changes in the business environment demand a response. at the same time, the direction of the konoike group is unwavering. in these times, we must return to the roots of our corporate philosophy, identifying the needs of society and our customers, working together as a group to provide solutions to social issues and create high-value-added services.

to grow back stronger after covid-19 subsides, we intend to leverage the recent challenges as an opportunity for structural reform and to strengthen the foundation of our businesses. in this way, we will expand our business lines and secure profitability, even in difficult market environments.

last, allow me to announce that we have decided to pay a year-end dividend of ¥11 per share. this will result in a full-year dividend of ¥20 per share for the fiscal year ended march 31, 2021, as previously announced. we apologize to our shareholders for the reduced divided compared to the previous fiscal year. we will do our utmost to recover our business performance and return the results of our efforts to you.

sincerely,

tadahiko konoike
representative director, chairman, president and chief executive officer