Shareholder return strategy: No. 1<3562> changed its shareholder return policy along with the publication of the new mid-term management plan "Evolution 2027" and showed the direction of significantly strengthening shareholder return. So far, we have aimed for stable dividends (30% dividend payout ratio as a guide), but in the future, we plan to implement stable and continuous shareholder dividends based on a policy of aiming for a 30% dividend payout ratio, regardless of changes in annual performance. A notable feature is that we have set a minimum dividend of the previous year's annual dividend per share and will continue to increase dividends, which is a significant enhancement of shareholder return and can also be evaluated as a expression of confidence in profit growth. Moreover, we have a policy of "flexibly implementing under financial discipline" for acquiring our own shares, showing a more proactive stance.* *Considering the gap between our own perception of the stock price and the market evaluation, ROE, capital efficiency, and CF level, we have a policy of implementing it flexibly. Dividends for the fiscal year ending February 2024 will increase by 1 yen from the previous year, as expected at the beginning of the period, to 33 yen per share (mid-term dividend of 16.5 yen and year-end dividend of 16.5 yen). We also acquired 340,000 shares of our own stock (with a purchase price of 397 million yen). Despite the anticipated decline in profits for the fiscal year ending February 2025, we are expected to follow the policy of increasing dividends every period and issue a dividend of 1 yen per share (a commemorative dividend for the 35th anniversary of our founding), with an expected increase of 2 yen from the previous year to 35 yen per share (mid-term dividend of 17.5 yen and year-end dividend of 17.5 yen).

At Beautic Holdings <3041>, the basic policy is to aim for profit distribution linked to performance with a dividend payout ratio of 50% as a guideline, while striving to maintain stable dividends.

Regarding the dividend per share for the fiscal year ending June 2024, due to lower-than-planned decrease in profit, the year-end dividend was revised downward from the initial estimate (13.58 yen per share) to 4.00 yen per share, a decrease of 5.00 yen compared to the previous period. For the fiscal year ending June 2025, it is planned to increase the dividend per share to 9.00 yen, a turnaround from the previous period with an increase of 5.00 yen. The company believes that there is sufficient room for increasing dividends in line with profit growth through the realization of medium-term management plans.

In addition, a shareholder benefit system targeting shareholders who hold 100 or more shares as of June 30 each year is also introduced with the aim of creating individual shareholders. Specifically, shareholders with 100 shares or more as of June 30 each year are eligible to purchase "orchids," "indoor plants," "preserved flowers," "fresh flower arrangements," etc. provided by the group companies at a discounted rate based on the number of shares owned. Furthermore, a long-term shareholder system has been introduced, where shareholders who hold shares for more than 3 years and own 1,000 or more shares as of June 30 each year are presented with specialty products from Kumamoto Prefecture.

(Written by Fisco Guest Analyst Ikuo Shibata)