January 4, 2023
Happy New Year to everyone with Kanematsu and the Kanematsu Group.
Last year was certainly a turbulent year, and I am very happy to be able to welcome the new year with you all without any serious problems.
Although the New Year's holiday this year was rather short, I hope you were all able to refresh yourselves. I myself had an opportunity to meet Yuki Tsunoda, a Japanese F1 driver, on December 28, the last work day of last year, which was a very memorable occasion to end the year. Some of you may have watched the satellite TV program late at night on the New Year's Eve which broadcast the first sunrise of the year from space. Our Aerospace Department helped in the production of the program, and Mr. Tsunoda talked about his resolutions for the new year in the program. The shooting of his interview video took place in the customer lounge on the 17th floor of our office.
F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and there are only 20 F1 drivers in the world. Mr. Tsunoda is the only Japanese among these 20 drivers, and at the young age of 22, he is challenging himself to become the world's top driver. I was greatly impressed by Mr. Tsunoda's endeavor and passion to achieve his goal, and I thought about the young people of the Kanematsu Group while talking with him. I would like to encourage all of you to play an active role on the world stage, and I reinforced my determination that we will become a company that can send out as many young people as possible to the rest of the world.
Relocation of Our Headquarters
A big event last year was the relocation of our Tokyo Headquarters on November 21. It was almost 30 years since our last move.
The relocation was completed more than three years after we announced the relocation plan to the public in October 2019. At the time of the announcement, I thought that would be a long way down the line, but in reality, we just barely made it in time for the scheduled date.
We were able to move safely thanks to the cooperation of the project members and each and every employee who worked hard to reduce paperwork. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all of you. Thank you very much.
It has been about a month and a half since the relocation, and I wonder how you all are feeling.
I think the biggest difference from Seavans is that the new office does not have fixed seats, with the introduction of Activity-Based Working (ABW). You may have been confused by the change in the work environment at first, but I sense that people are gradually adjusting to it. With ABW, people can choose where to sit according to the content of the work, so people can work more efficiently. It has also facilitated communication across departments.
Furthermore, the office is now close to Tokyo Station, making it easier for business partners and group companies to stop by. I hope that you will communicate more closely with many people, which will lead to the creation of new businesses with innovative ideas.
Looking Back on 2022
Now, let us take a look back on 2022 and then talk about measures for 2023.
In global affairs, Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February last year. Many civilians have become victims, and I hope that the situation will be resolved as soon as possible.
In addition, the global economic growth rate is expected to slow from 6.0% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022, partly due to the prolonged effects of COVID-19.
On the other hand, inflation is expected to rise from 4.7% in 2021 to 8.8% in 2022.
Japan has been no exception, and there was a rush to raise prices last year, especially for food products.
Looking at the exchange rate, the yen was at around 115 yen to the US dollar in January last year, but depreciated by more than 150 yen by October. Depending on the monetary policies of Japan and the United States going forward, it is quite possible that there will be large fluctuations again. A trading company's strength is to be agile in recognizing change and to respond quickly. This is also a mission. Please keep an eye on changes in world affairs and our business environment on a daily basis and be able to respond quickly.
As for our company, we had a strong performance last year on the back of soaring commodity prices and changes in US energy policy. We also continued to carry out investment projects and to expand the scales. Furthermore, we have been sowing seeds for the future by carrying out three innovation investments under the innovation investment system introduced last year. We look forward to seeing these projects lead to profits in the future.
future 135
This year will be the final year of future 135 with the 130th Fiscal Term starting in April. The 130th Fiscal Term will be an important year for building the foundation for our business to take it to the next stage, and the remaining three months of the 129th Fiscal Term will serve as a run-up period for this. Fortunately, the 129th Fiscal Term is proceeding well and we made an upward revision to our full-year earnings forecast when we announced our financial results for the second quarter. We are still compiling our results for the third quarter, but the numbers are expected to be favorable. In future 135, we set two priority measures for the last three years: "promotion of DX" and "investment in business fields that contribute to the SDGs". I believe that these two measures and investment in innovation will be passed on not only to the next fiscal year, but also to the next medium-term management plan. We plan to take enough time to formulate the next medium-term plan from around February while exchanging opinions with everyone, but first, with this momentum, we hope to achieve our target of 20.0 billion yen in profit attributable to owners of the parent in the final year of future 135 and aim to further improve our corporate value.
Sustainability
In recent years, stakeholders judge that sustainable growth of a company cannot be expected if it produces a negative impact on society or the environment, which has an impact on corporate value. ESG, in other words, environment, social, and governance, is becoming more important, and companies need to strengthen initiatives not only to improve business performance, but also to address sustainability issues.
Kanematsu's Corporate Principle is a philosophy that is aligned with sustainability, and sustainability is a major challenge that the company needs to work on as a whole. Presenting these efforts to society is also an important activity, and we would like to ask for your continued cooperation.
In Conclusion
The outlook is expected to remain uncertain this year. The situations in the world are changing rapidly, in which we will continue to have trouble finding right solutions. Under such circumstances, the first thing to do is to take action. I think it is important to find the correct answers by taking action. I hope that you will continue to take on new challenges with Kanematsu's DNA which has been handed down to us, and also with the will and passion that lie in our Corporate Principle.
Finally, I would like to conclude my New Year's greetings by wishing for the health and success of all of you with the Kanematsu Group in Japan and around the world as well as your families who support you.
Thank you very much.
President Yoshiya Miyabe
Kanematsu Corporation