Suzuki 2015 Annual Report Download - page 4

2 SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION
A Message from the Management
Management results of this scal year
The management environment of the Group for scal 2014 in over-
seas economy is showing a moderate recovery trend, despite inu-
ence by the trend of normalization of monetary policy in the US,
unpredictable economic outlook for emerging countries, downfall
in crude oil prices and geopolitical risk in some regions. Particularly
in India, it shows a steady recovery trend because of reformation by
the newly-elected government and low price of crude oil.
On the other hand, outlook for Japanese economy is unpredict-
able partly owing to the impact of the hike in the rate of con-
sumption tax.
Under these circumstances, the consolidated net sales of this s-
cal year (April 2014 to March 2015) increased by ¥77.2 billion (2.6%)
to ¥3,015.5 billion compared to the previous scal year. The Com-
pany was able to recover the net sales to ¥3.0 trillion, which had
declined after the nancial crisis of 2008. The Japanese domestic
net sales decreased by ¥38.1 billion (3.4%) to ¥1,094.6 billion
year-on-year owing to the decrease in the automobile sales.
However, the overseas net sales increased by ¥115.3 billion (6.4%)
to ¥1,920.9 billion year-on-year mainly owing to the increase in
the automobile sales in India.
In terms of the consolidated income, the operating income de-
creased by ¥8.3 billion (4.4%) to ¥179.4 billion year-on-year.
Although the decrease in the income in Indonesia and Thailand
were covered by the increase in the income in India, the operating
income decreased mainly owing to the increase in the operating
expenses of Japan and overseas. The ordinary income decreased
by ¥3.5 billion (1.8%) to ¥194.3 billion year-on-year. The net in-
come decreased by ¥10.6 billion (9.9%) to ¥96.9 billion year-on-
year mainly owing to the increase in the adjustment of minority
interests in income.
Basic policies for prot distribution
The Group’s earnings heavily depend on the overseas production
sites located mainly at emerging countries and are susceptible
to the uctuations of foreign currencies. Furthermore, the Group
plans to invest actively on such overseas sites going forward. With
a view for the Group to achieve a sustainable growth in the future,
it is indispensable to strengthen the Company’s structure and pre-
pare for unexpected contingency.
The Company determines the prot distribution with the dividend
payout ratio of approximately 15% based on the performances,
strengthening of the corporate nature and full internal reserve
for future business expansion and others from the medium to
long term viewpoint, with the emphasis on the continuous and
stable distribution.
As to this scal year, although the income decreased year–on-
year, with the consolidated dividend payout ratio, the year-end
dividends were up by ¥3.00 per share from the previous scal year
to ¥17.00 per share. As a result, the annual dividends including in-
terim dividends were ¥27.00 per share and up by ¥3.00 per share
from the previous scal year.
In future years, under the foregoing point of view, we will also deter-
mine the prot distribution based on the performance of scal year.
Outstanding issues
The Group sets a basic policy of “Think smarter, work harder and
unite as a Suzuki Group; overcome our challenges and navigate
our way to a brighter future” and will tackle following issues amid
challenging condition.
- Strengthening of quality management system
The Group takes the quality management seriously as a manage-
ment issue of utmost importance that needs to be addressed as
early as possible. The Group will review its quality management sys-
tem fundamentally for the purpose of preventing the recurrence.
-Product development and strengthening of research and devel-
opment
The Group will make eort to strengthen research and develop-
ment such as environment technology, fuel ecient technology,
weight reduction technology, safety technology, information and
communications technology and product designing ability to
enhance competitiveness of products. Also, the Group will make
eort to reduce costs by improving eciency of development by
integrating engine, powertrain and platform, standardization of
parts and others.
-Strengthening of manufacturing capability
Based on the concept of “local production for local consump-
tion”, the Group will continue to strengthen manufacturing out-
side Japan. Especially in Asia, which has a growing demand for
automobiles, the Group will strive to increase the ratio of in-
house manufacturing, expand global procurement and enhance
production capability at respective local markets. Moreover, along
with the advancement of economic cooperation among dierent
regions through FTA and the trend of the foreign currency market,
the Group will also work to optimize the balance of manufacturing
activities in and outside Japan.
-Strengthening and expansion of sales network
To respond to intensifying competition at various regions and
products, the Group will be expanding and strengthening its sales
network both in Japan and overseas, and execute marketing ac-
tivities in a close contact with the market.
-Reconstruction of motorcycle business
As for the Motorcycle business, the Group will review its omni-
A Message from the Management