Message from the President

We will continue to adhere to the ethos of our founder. Specifically, we will be a visionary leader, we will act with integrity, we will value diversity, and we will all continue to take on challenges with passion.

On May 8, ITOCHU announced its financial results for fiscal 2013 and its two-year medium-term management plan for fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2015.

In fiscal 2013, the final year of our previous medium-term management plan, “Brand-new Deal 2012,” ITOCHU has achieved the plan, with Net income attributable to ITOCHU amounting to ¥280.3 billion. As the global economy remained uncertain, reflecting falling resource prices and the worsening debt problems in Europe, ITOCHU recorded a large impairment loss in the resource sectors. However, as our earnings increased in the non-resource sectors, particularly the consumer-related sectors, where we are strong, ITOCHU achieved record-high profits in the Textile Company, Food Company, and Forest Products & General Merchandise Division, as in the previous fiscal year, and posted a record profit in the Machinery Company as well. I believe that the reason why ITOCHU was able to achieve this target without revising down our initial plan of ¥280.0 billion is because we were able to strengthen our earnings base by steadily implementing the basic policies of the Brand-new Deal 2012; namely, to “strengthen our front-line capabilities,” “proactively seek new opportunities,” and “expand our scale of operations.”

Our newly formulated medium-term management plan, “Brand-new Deal 2014,” was named after the “Brand-new Deal 2012,” and continues its basic policies. Accordingly, the new medium-term management plan sets the three new elements described below as its basic policies to achieve further growth toward the next stage, while maintaining the principles of “Earn, Cut, Prevent” as the fundamental position of our business.

The first element is “boost profitability.” We will aim to expand earnings by steadily cultivating the investment projects we have implemented in recent years and increase profitability at the same time by maintaining our efforts to improve the management of our existing businesses. We will also continue to actively make new investments.
The second element is “pursue balanced growth.” Keeping a balance between our non-resource and resource sectors in mind, we will aim to be the number one trading company in the non-resource sectors by further strengthening the consumer-related sectors, where we have traditionally been strong, and raising the level of our basic industry-related sectors, mainly Machinery and Chemicals.
The third element is “maintain financial discipline and lean management.” We will steadfastly maintain this lean management even amid the uncertain business climate.

For a summary of the financial results for fiscal 2013 and the details of the “Brand-new Deal 2014,” please click on another page of this website.

Finally, with respect to dividends as our shareholder returns, as previously announced, we will pay dividends so that the payout ratio will be approximately 20% for the portion of Net income attributable to ITOCHU that is up to ¥200.0 billion a year, and approximately 30% for the portion that exceeds ¥200.0 billion a year. Given that Net income attributable to ITOCHU in fiscal 2013 was ¥280.3 billion, the annual dividend per share will be ¥40, and accordingly, the payout ratio will be 22.6%.

ITOCHU will continue to endeavor to live up to your expectations. I would like to ask all of our stakeholders for their continued support and encouragement.