Alpine 2015 Annual Report Download - page 4

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II. Dear Shareholders
Thank you all very much for your kind support.
I offer the following brief greeting to accompany our forty-ninth financial statements.
The domestic business environment during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, showed indications of
economic recovery, despite concerns of a slowdown in consumer spending as a result of the consumption
tax hike. As the yen continued to depreciate and stock prices increased further thanks to the Abenomics
effect, many corporations recorded improvements in both sales and profits, particularly in the export
sector. In new car sales, emerging countries tended toward negative growth, but sales were strong in the
American market—where the boost provided by cheaper prices for crude oil has contributed to a solid
performance—as well as in China, which has achieved continuous growth. Elsewhere, the European
economy showed the first signs of having bottomed out, after previously giving cause for concern due to
the debt crisis.
Under these circumstances, in our domestic aftermarket business, the “BIG-X Premium” series of car
navigation systems was extremely well received in the market. Tailored to fit specific vehicle models in
combination with the “Perfect Fit” installation kits, the series was highly evaluated for a range of attributes
including its operability and large screen, as well as the premium experience and functionality as an
in-vehicle system that it delivers upon installation. “Big-X Premium” garnered three of Japan’s top honors
for car navigation systems, gaining top ranking in a customer satisfaction survey, in addition to the Grand
Prix in the Car Accessory Award 2014, and the Gold Award in the Auto Sound Web Grand Prix 2014.
In our business with automakers too, we received extremely prestigious supplier’s awards from some of
the world’s leading automakers. The awards demonstrated that these automakers appreciate Alpine’s
technical expertise and ability to propose new products, as well as its product quality and its overall
capabilities as a specialist manufacturer of in-vehicle systems that has worked hard to generate value for
customers.
In addition to successes such as these, we achieved increases in sales and profits for the second consecutive
year, buoyed by strong sales of new cars at our major customers and favorable exchange rates.
Thanks to this business performance, we intend to reward our shareholders for their support by paying a
year-end dividend of 20 yen per share. As a result, combined with the 10 yen of the interim dividend, our
annual dividend will be 30 yen, a 5 yen increase compared with the previous fiscal year.