Shareholder return The dividend policy of NEC Capital Solution <8793> is based on maintaining stable dividends, while securing internal reserves necessary for investment in growth strategies and strengthening financial health, and reviewing appropriate dividend levels taking into account market trends and performance fluctuations. For the dividend of the 2024 fiscal year, a dividend of 130 yen per share (including an interim dividend of 65 yen) with a 20 yen increase compared to the previous fiscal year will be implemented. Regarding the dividend for the fiscal year ending March 2025, the company plans to pay a dividend of 150 yen per share (including an interim dividend of 75 yen) with a 20 yen increase compared to the dividend in the fiscal year ending March 2024, taking into account the profit forecast. The company plans to reward shareholders in accordance with the dividend policy, as it plans to achieve the highest profit on the profit side as a profit forecast. As a result, the company's dividend payout ratio reaches 40.4%. The actual PBR (price-to-book ratio) is in the 0.7x range and is below the PBR 1.0x that the Tokyo Stock Exchange is requesting improvement. Therefore, we believe that the company will actively pursue initiatives to strengthen shareholder return policies along with profit growth in the future, and the trend of increased dividends will continue.

Dividends.

Yamatake <9305> aims to expand business earnings and strengthen its financial position from a medium-to-long-term perspective, while maintaining a basic policy of stable dividends for shareholders. For the fiscal year ending March 2024, the year-end dividend was increased from 32 yen per share in the initial plan to 40 yen per share, with the aim of improving capital efficiency and implementing shareholder returns. As a result, the annual dividend, including the interim dividend of 25 yen, was 65 yen (payout ratio of 27.4%). In the medium-term management plan "Yamatake 2025 Plan", the company aims to achieve a dividend payout ratio of 35% or higher, but considering that the final fiscal year of 2025 coincides with its 100th anniversary, it plans to increase the annual dividend to 90 yen per share, a 25 yen increase from the previous year (payout ratio of 35.1%).

Shareholder benefits.

At its board of directors meeting in November 2023, the company resolved to revise (enhance) its shareholder benefit program. Previously, rice and calendars were given as gifts based on the number of shares held and the length of time they were held. In this revision, the types of benefits were expanded as an effort to increase the number of shareholders who support the company's sustainability policy, and a selection-based system was introduced.

Under the new shareholder benefit program, shareholders who hold 1,000 or more shares as of the end of September will be given 10 kg of rice harvested in Hoshimatake (Tōkamachi City, Niigata Prefecture), which is working to preserve its terraced rice fields that are at risk of declining. In addition, an application system (with lottery in case of many applications) will be available for shareholders to experience planting and harvesting rice. Other benefits include the choice of 2-3 juices or 2-8 cups of sake made from the specially selected rice or terraced rice fields rice, depending on the number of shares held as of the end of March, and in addition to the Yamatake Museum calendar as a benefit, shareholders can also choose specially selected rice or terraced rice fields rice based on the number of shares held as of the end of September.

(Writer: FISCO analyst Tomoichi Murase)