Wacom 2004 Annual Report Download - page 4

Dear Wacom shareholders,
On behalf of Wacom, I would like to extend my
greetings and express our sincere appreciation for your
unchanging support. We are pleased to present the
Wacom Annual Report for the 21st fiscal year from
April 1, 2003, through March 31, 2004.
Since opening our doors in 1983, Wacom has focused
on researching and developing new user interfaces
designed to enhance human creativity. Under the
corporate philosophy of "the harmonious development
between man and technology," Wacom has served
customers worldwide while growing into a global
company with a presence in all the major regions.
Today, Wacom is recognized as the standard tool
provider of pen tablets---indispensable for professional
designers and artists in the film, animation, game, and
other graphics industries. Further, the recent growth of
broadband communication, digital photography, and
liquid crystal displays has led to a rapid increase in the
number of recreational Wacom consumers, which has
coincided with our expansion into alternative
applications, such as within the medical and education
fields. We also plan to position Wacom technology as
the de facto standard of the digital paper era by
extending our reach to a new generation of mobile
phones and info appliances, in addition to the tablet
PCs. To ensure long-term growth and to generate
higher corporate values, we will invest in new
technologies and establish a global brand leadership.
At Wacom, we will continue our commitment to the
expansion of human creativity by offering natural,
intuitive, and human-friendly interface solutions.
Business developments and performance in
the 21st fiscal year
In the first half of the 21st fiscal year, the Japanese
economy remained weak and unpredictable.
Uncertainty in the Middle East, the slowdown in the
European economy, and the SARS epidemic that
troubled Asian markets collectively offset hopeful
signals, such as domestic corporate profitability gains
and a rally in stock prices. In the second half, the signs
of economic recovery became more prominent,
although some uncertainty remained, epitomized by
the stronger Japanese yen and slow consumer
spending. Wacom Group responded to such changes
with agility and flexibility. We took steps to enhance
the awareness of current products, expanded new
application areas, and developed a new technology
and new products as the foundations of our future
component business. We also successfully resolved with
settlement a pending patent case in the U.S. Moreover,
we improved our focus on select businesses by
divesting Wacom IT Co., Ltd. and absorbing Wacom
NET Co., Ltd. through a small-scale merger during the
year.
As a consequence, our consolidated financial results
are represented by a net sales of 16,515 million yen (up
9.8%), an operating income of 1,702 million yen (up
64.5%), and a net income of 589 million yen (up
17.2%). All percentage comparisons were made on a
year-on-year basis.
Business outlook and midterm business
strategy
In starting the 22nd fiscal year (year to March 31, 2005),
Wacom abolished existing internal company systems
and reorganized itself to accelerate the growth in its
main business: the Electronic Systems and Devices (ESD)
division. We also committed ourselves to improving the
2 Wacom Annual Report 2004
TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
WACOM IS COMMITTED TO ENHANCING THE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
IN HUMAN-FRIENDLY INTERFACES