Nikon 2009 Annual Report Download - page 6

Please give a summary of the fi scal year ended
March 2009.
The economic downturn that began with the
fi nancial crisis in the United States caused a
market contraction that exceeded our expectations.
Since we entered the fi scal year ended March 2009 amid
the early stages of a global economic slowdown, we had
implemented emergency management measures from
its onset. However, in fall 2008 the slowdown in the
economy precipitated by the fi nancial crisis in the United
States spread quickly throughout the world, and markets
cooled considerably beyond our expectations. This had a
signifi cant impact on the Nikon Group’s business.
The Precision Equipment Company faced a marked
contraction of markets in the semiconductor fi eld, as capital
expenditures were sharply curtailed following the worldwide
falloff in demand for semiconductor devices. The market
for the LCD equipment fi eld, despite brisk investment dur-
ing the fi rst half, stagnated from summer 2008 as demand
for the large panels used in fl at-screen televisions abruptly
slowed. The Precision Equipment Company managed to
boost sales to a certain extent with cutting-edge ArF immer-
sion scanners and large-scale LCD steppers and scanners,
but the impact from the slowdown in related markets led to
year-on-year declines in both revenue and earnings.
The Imaging Company posted record sales for the full
period in terms of both volume and value owing to brisk
business during the fi rst half, but earnings declined as
a result of the substantial rise of the yen and the slump
in consumer spending with the rapidly deteriorating
economy in the second half.
The Instruments Company achieved positive perfor-
mance in the bioscience fi eld, mainly in areas involving
live cells, but in the industrial instruments fi eld the mar-
ket stagnated as curbs were placed on capital expenditures
in almost all industries, leading to an overall decline in
both revenue and earnings.
As a result, consolidated net sales for the fi scal year
ended March 2009 declined 8.0% from the previous fi scal
year to ¥879,719 million. Operating income fell 64.4% to
¥48,185 million, and net income 62.8% to ¥28,056 million.
The three-year Medium Term Management
Plan from April 2009 through March 2012 has
just begun. What are your goals for this plan, and what
specifi c measures does it contain?
Focusing on the world economy after recovery,
we are pursuing structural reforms and the
development of attractive products that will return us to
a sustainable growth track.
Nikon’s policies for the three-year Medium Term Manage-
ment Plan are, in the fi scal year ending March 2010, to
reform the structure of business and profi t, and lower the
break-even point; in the fi scal year ending March 2011, to
commence business operation for the coming economic
recovery, and achieve a turnaround in profi tability; and in
the fi scal year ending March 2012, to return to a sustain-
able growth track. The measures in this plan assume that
semiconductor producers and other manufacturers will
continue to control capital expenditures, and that demand
for fi nal products will remain sluggish for some time.
We also expect that even after the world economy recovers
there will be a shift in the demand structure, and we will
enter an era in which corporate growth is uneven.
We must adapt to this market environment change and
consider how Nikon can achieve sustained growth under
these diffi cult business conditions. This plan describes the
policies that will put the Nikon Group back on a sustainable
growth track by its fi nal year. To realize this goal,
Interview with the President
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4 Nikon Annual Report 2009