Casio 2004 Annual Report Download - page 5

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 5 of the 2004 Casio annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 44

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
During the term under review, ended
March 31, 2004, the world economy
progressed favorably in general, a
performance that was attributable
to steady economic growth in the
United States and China. The Japanese
economy showed signs of recovery,
reecting increases in exports thanks
to a vigorous U.S. economy, as well as
the recovery of the stock market and
improvements in corporate earnings.
The ongoing slump in consumer
spending dragged on, but hints of
recovery and other optimistic signs
began to appear, pointing toward a real
business recovery.
Turning to the markets in which
we are active, digital home appliances
(digital cameras, cellular phones,
LCD TVs, and DVDs) posted great
gains, acting as market-driving
forces. Consequently, demand for
semiconductors and electronic
components also increased, leading to a
general recovery in the markets.
BUSINESS PERFORMANCE FOR
THE TERM UNDER REVIEW
Under this business environment, the
Casio Group forged strongly ahead with
the development of strategic businesses,
including timepieces, digital cameras,
electronic dictionaries, cellular phones,
and TFT LCDs, setting the stage for
the achievement of sales targets. At the
same time, we stepped up efforts aimed
at boosting business efciency, including
improvements in capital efciency and
drastic reductions in xed costs.
As a result, net sales during the term
under review rose by 18.8%
year-on-year, to amount to ¥523.5
billion on a consolidated basis,
reecting excellent progress centered on
strategic businesses.
Operating income climbed by 53.5%
over the previous term to reach ¥27.4
billion, reecting the benets of
major improvements in prot margins
resulting from boosting product
appeal in strategic businesses and the
reinforcement of business efciency and
other prot foundations.
In addition, net income surged by
151.0% over the previous term to reach
a record ¥14.1 billion.
FUTURE CORPORATE STRATEGY
AND ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED
Capitalizing on our core competencies,
we are energetically undertaking a wide
range of measures throughout our areas
of business, including original product
development and steps to boost prots
based on a long-term viewpoint. We
also seek to grow business results and
strengthen our nancial position in an
effort to enhance efciency and create
new values.
More specically, we are putting a
great deal of effort into the following
measures, which are aimed at raising
the Company’s earnings capacity and
management strengths.
Message from the President
-25,000
-20,000
-15,000
-10,000
-5,000
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
0403020100
6173
6547
-24928
5647
14176
Net Income (Loss)
(Millions of yen)
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
0403020100
12338
11968
14085
14114
14187
R&D Expenses
(Millions of yen)
Kazuo Kashio, President and CEO
3
ANNUAL REPORT 2004