■ Efforts towards the SDGs

Japan BS Broadcasting <9414> contributes to sustainability primarily by disseminating information that helps solve social issues. It produces diverse content as educational opportunities targeted at various viewer demographics. In the regular program "Lessons from Great Figures and Their Failures," it analyzes historical major failures made by great figures, examining their backgrounds, causes, and impacts, thereby illuminating the character of these figures and providing lessons for contemporary life. The picture book reading program "Today's Picture Book" offers opportunities to encounter enriching picture books for all children who will shape the future. It regularly broadcasts "Kyoto Graphic News" and "Kyoto Romance: Eternal Stories" as part of cultural heritage preservation, while also sponsoring the "Sakura Front National Caster Relay!" which changes themes annually, and the anime event "Tochitere☆Anime Festa!" held in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, contributing to local promotion. Furthermore, efforts are made to contribute to solving social issues through content and information dissemination, including broadcasting and streaming programs that raise environmental issues.

The subsidiaries Rironsha and Kokutosha are members of the "Children's Books: Ten Companies Association," which aims for the publication and dissemination of high-quality children's literature gathered from specialized publishers of children's books, providing educational opportunities through published books.

Regarding the promotion of diversity, efforts are being strengthened for gender equality, such as improving the environment for women's participation and enhancing mid-career recruitment for workforce diversification. According to the company, as of the fiscal year ending August 2024, the percentage of female employees is 32.7%, female managers is 22.4%, and mid-career hires are over 80%. The company believes that content diversity is vital for providing attractive content to viewers as a broadcasting station, and that the diversity of human resources generates appealing and diverse content, which has led to the implementation of a human resource strategy that emphasizes diversity. This approach is aligned with the SDGs and appears to be positively received by employees working at the company.

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.

Enhancing IR activities, maintaining a policy based on a dividend payout ratio of approximately 40%.

The company has set a fundamental policy to develop internal reserves and strengthen its financial structure in response to recent changes in the management environment of the industry and intensified competition with the internet, while continually executing stable profit distributions according to performance. Under this policy, the dividend per share for the fiscal year ending August 2024 was raised by 4 yen from the initial dividend estimates to a year-end dividend of 30 yen.

In the fiscal year ending August 2023, it was determined that a certain degree of financial strengthening was achieved, and it was decided to expand shareholder returns based on a dividend payout ratio of 40% starting from the fiscal year ending August 2024. For the fiscal year ending August 2024, the initial forecast is a dividend amount of 30 yen with a payout ratio of 40.5%. Although due to results surpassing initial plans, the payout ratio was 36.7% and did not reach 40%, it was an increase from the 33.4% for the fiscal year ending August 2023. It is expected that for the fiscal year ending August 2025, the dividend per share will be 30 yen, with a payout ratio of 38.0%.

Regarding IR activities, the system and methods related to information disclosure will be further improved to enhance communication with shareholders and investors. In the fiscal year ending August 2024, a mid-term earnings conference and the final earnings conference will be held, and information aimed at securities companies, institutions, and individual investors will be actively disclosed. Opinions gained from dialogues with investors will be reported regularly to the board of directors, and necessary revisions to measures will be made.

(Writer: FISCO analyst Tomoichi Murase)