Home ＞ To Our Shareholders and Investors（Investor Relations）
During fiscal 2011, the year ended October 31, 2011, the Japanese economy trended toward a recovery. This was largely attributable to an upswing in exports and production activity along with the turnaround in the global economy. Despite these favorable circumstances, the future of the domestic economy remained uncertain. This was mainly a reflection of the damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck the nation on March 11, 2011 and subsequent incidents at the Fukushima nuclear power plants, along with financial and capital market instability triggered by the financial crisis in Europe and the downside risks associated with the European and U.S. economies.
Turning to the chemical industry, signs of a recovery began to emerge from reconstruction demand following the earthquake disaster. The business environment, however, continued to leave little room for complacency due to the sharp appreciation of the yen.
Conditions within the agricultural chemical industry were mixed. Overseas, demand for grain increased, reflecting such factors as global population growth and improvements in disposable income in emerging economies. In Japan, however, agricultural produce acreage was negatively impacted by a variety of factors, including salt and other damage resulting from the Great East Japan Earthquake and incidents at the nuclear power plants that were affected, as well as from the spread of unfounded rumors radiation-contaminated soil.
Under these circumstances, the Ihara Chemical Group worked diligently to further boost its competitive advantage. To this end, the Group took steps to maintain stable production, formulate a medium-term investment plan and adhere strictly to a policy of optimizing new product procurement methods while actively gaining new customers. At the same time, the Group strove to increase its earnings by enhancing the efficiency of production, thereby reducing costs.
Accounting for each of the aforementioned factors, consolidated net sales for the fiscal year under review amounted to ￥25,713 million, up 13.0% compared with the previous fiscal year.
From a profit perspective, ordinary income climbed 34.2% year on year to ￥2,705 million. This was largely attributable to the increase in demand for mainstay agricultural chemical active ingredients and successful efforts to reduce costs. Net income improved 19.6% compared with the previous fiscal year to ￥1,548 million.
Looking to the future of Japan’s economy, the general recovery trend is expected to continue due to reconstruction demand in the wake of the earthquake disaster and sound economic activity in emerging economies. Current conditions remain unstable, however, due to anxiety surrounding a downturn mainly in Europe and the U.S. and such unavoidable uncertainties as the rapid appreciation of the yen.
Under these circumstances, the Ihara Chemical Group will work to optimize procurement and investment methods, taking into consideration medium-term sales budgets. Steps will also be taken to continuously curtail raw material expenses from both the procurement and production perspectives. Through these means, the Group will implement initiatives that fully reflect its focus on the profitability of existing products as well as new products that are being released on the market. At the same time, the Group will work tirelessly to strengthen proactive efforts to promote and enhance customer value.
We kindly request the continued support and understanding of our shareholders and investors.
January 2012
President and Representative Director
Nobuhiko Mochizuki
