Mazda 2016 Annual Report Download - page 6

Message from President and CEO
2016 fiscal year, we paid a full-year dividend of ¥30 per
share, consisting of a ¥15 per share interim dividend
and a ¥15 per share year-end dividend. We plan to raise
the dividend by ¥5 per share for the March 2017 fiscal
year, to ¥35 per share, consisting of a ¥15 per share
interim dividend and a ¥20 per share year-end dividend.
Structural Reform Plan
The Structural Reform Plan medium-term business
plan was formulated in February 2012 to address an
increasingly challenging external environment. The
plan set four major initiatives, which we have steadily
pursued, making solid progress with structural
reforms leveraging SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY.
The first major initiative was business innovation
through SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY, and in this regard
we have progressed on plan with the introduction of
new models, bringing the percentage of SKYACTIV-
equipped vehicles sold to 86%. Both SKYACTIV prod-
ucts and KODO design have been highly recognized in
Japan and overseas, and they have enabled us to
achieve growth in global sales volume while maintain-
ing our right-price sales policy.
In terms of the second initiative—accelerate further
cost improvement through Monotsukuri Innovation—
we have enhanced our product strength while making
major improvements in the efficiency of development
spending and capital investment, through manufactur-
ing that faithfully reproduces designs and the devel-
opment and use of designer colors such as “Soul Red”
and “Machine Gray.” These moves have reduced costs
while also contributing to brand value enhancement.
With regard to the third initiative of establishing a
global production footprint, the Mexico plant that
commenced operations in January 2014 has expanded
the number of models produced as planned, including
the Mazda3, the Mazda2, and compact cars for Toyota.
The powertrain plant in Thailand has also begun
producing SKYACTIV engines in addition to automatic
transmissions. As a result, our overseas production
ratio has risen to around 40%, contributing to our
global supply capacity and our resistance to exchange
rate movements.
We are promoting global alliances, the fourth
initiative, by pursuing optimal and complementary
tie-up strategies by product, technology, and region,
including the commencement of production and
supply to Toyota from our plant in Mexico and to Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles from our Hiroshima plant. After
gaining deeper mutual understanding through the
task force that handled the operational tie-up with
Toyota, which was concluded and announced in May
2015, we are making steady progress in exploring a
broader range of areas for cooperation with a medi-
um-to-long-term time frame.
Structural Reform Stage 2
Under the Structural Reform Plan, we were able to
achieve a certain level of success toward the realiza-
tion of a stable earnings structure, including substan-
tial progress in major initiatives in the areas of prod-
ucts, sales, manufacturing, and alliances, while
investing for future growth. Nevertheless, there is still
room for further improvement in each of these areas,
and we believe we need to strengthen these initia-
tives further. We have therefore formulated Struc-
tural Reform Stage 2, a medium-term business plan
that begins with the March 2017 fiscal year and seeks
to increase brand value through qualitative business
growth for continuous growth in the future.
In the area of products and development, we will
introduce six new models (including one derivative
model) that provide driving pleasure and outstanding
environmental and safety performance. We will also
continue to advance our new-generation product
lineup with updated models featuring the latest de-
signs and technologies, and we aim to expand our
lineup of crossover models, which are registering
growth in demand globally, to step up sales volume
and raise profitability. Our technological development
MAZDA ANNUAL REPORT 2016
4Message from
Management
Review of Operations
Drivers of Value Creation
Foundations Underpinning
Sustainable Growth
Financial Section
Contents