Message from the Chief Financial Officer

Director
Managing Corporate Officer
Takahiro Otsuka

Nankai Group has formulated the Medium-term Management Plan "Kyoso 140 Plan" and has established the three-year period from FY2022 to FY2024 as the period for restructuring and building the foundation for growth through the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve this, while maintaining financial soundness as a prerequisite, we plan to make investments of up to 160 billion yen in line with three business strategies: 52 billion yen for the sustainable management of public transportation business; 93 billion yen in order to develop the most popular areas along railway lines and deepen and expand our real estate business; and 15 billion yen on future exploration. In addition, to balance this expansion of investment with financial discipline, we will analyze and implement diversified financing methods, including fund-raising by a private REIT. Based on this, we have set and aim to achieve our numerical targets for the final year of the "Kyoso 140 Plan" (FY2024) as 28 billion yen for operating income (including dividend income) and 7.5 times or less for the ratio of the net interest-bearing debt to EBITDA.

 

FY2022, the first year of our "Kyoso 140 Plan," got off to a difficult start with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of high inflation. However, in the second half of the year, a recovery in demand due to the easing of border restrictions and nationwide travel support, as well as the effects of cost-cutting measures, enabled us to exceed our initial profit and loss targets. We expect further recovery in earnings in the FY2023 plans and are determined to make a concerted effort to achieve the plan figures.

 

We recognize that shareholder returns are one of the most important management issues. As we are mainly in the railway business—a sector with a high public profile—our basic policy is to pay consistent dividends by further improving earnings while striving to secure a stable management base and strengthen our financial position over the long term. In FY2022, although we were on a recovery track following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we paid a dividend of 25 yen per share (year-end dividend), the same as the previous fiscal year. This figure took into account that people's lifestyles and values have changed significantly, and that the business environment remains uncertain and lacking optimism. Looking ahead, we will do our utmost to meet the expectations of our shareholders, with the aim of attaining a prompt recovery in business performance.

June,2023