Nikon 2010 Annual Report Download - page 43

41
Nikon Corporation Annual Report 2010
The liability for employees’ retirement benefi ts at March 31, 2010 and 2009 consisted of the following:
Millions of Yen
Thousands of
U.S. Dollars
2010 2009 2010
Projected benefi t obligation ¥106,614 ¥108,026 $1,145,899
Fair value of plan assets (83,283) (72,919) (895,133)
Unrecognized actuarial gain and loss (14,980) (30,575) (161,003)
Unrecognized prior service cost 8,101 8,794 87,067
16,452 13,326 176,830
Prepayment of service cost 755 696 8,116
Net liability ¥ 17,207 ¥ 14,022 $ 184,946
The projected benefi t obligation includes retirement allowance for offi cers of ¥205 million ($2,200 thousand) and ¥176 million at March 31, 2010
and 2009, respectively.
The components of net periodic benefi t costs for the fi scal years ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 were as follows:
Millions of Yen
Thousands of
U.S. Dollars
2010 2009 2010
Service cost ¥3,663 ¥3,569 $39,374
Interest cost 2,889 2,940 31,055
Expected return on plan assets (1,786) (2,400) (19,199)
Recognized actuarial loss 4,993 2,718 53,669
Amortization of prior service cost (1,768) (1,851) (19,015)
Net periodic retirement benefi t costs ¥7,991 ¥4,976 $85,884
In addition to the above, the Company and certain of its overseas subsidiaries charged ¥2,151 million ($23,123 thousand) and ¥1,703 million as
the defi ned contribution pension plan to income for the fi scal years ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
Assumptions used for the fi scal years ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 were principally as set forth below:
2010 2009
Discount rate 2.50% 2.50%
Expected rate of return on plans assets 2.00% 2.00%
Recognition period of actuarial gain (loss) 10 years 10 years
Amortization period of prior service cost 10 years 10 years
8. Equity
Japanese companies are subject to the Companies Act of Japan (the
“Companies Act”). The signifi cant provisions in the Companies Act that
affect fi nancial and accounting matters are summarized below:
(a) Dividends
Under the Companies Act, companies can pay dividends at any time
during the fi scal year in addition to the year-end dividend upon resolu-
tion at the shareholders meeting. For companies that meet certain
criteria such as; (1) having the Board of Directors, (2) having indepen-
dent auditors, (3) having the Board of Corporate Auditors, and (4) the
term of service of the directors is prescribed as one year rather than
two years of normal term by its articles of incorporation, the Board of
Directors of such company may declare dividends (except for dividends
in kind) at any time during the fi scal year if the company has prescribed
so in its articles of incorporation. The Company meets all the above criteria.
The Companies Act permits companies to distribute dividends-in-
kind (non-cash assets) to shareholders subject to a certain limitation
and additional requirements.
Semiannual interim dividends may also be paid once a year upon
resolution by the Board of Directors if the articles of incorporation of
the company so stipulate. The Companies Act provides certain limita-
tions on the amounts available for dividends or the purchase of treasury
stock. The limitation is defi ned as the amount available for distribution
to the shareholders, but the amount of net assets after dividends must
be maintained at no less than ¥3 million.