Yamaha 2009 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Interview With the President
Question 1
What is your assessment of results for fiscal 2009?
We launched a number of new products in fiscal 2009, such as
digital musical instruments, acoustic guitars, electronic drums, and
AV amplifiers, which were well received by customers. With that said,
deterioration in a host of external environmental factors, including the
global economic slowdown, soaring prices for raw materials in the
first half of the year, and the sharp and rapid appreciation of the yen
in the second half, led to tough results for the year. Not only were net
sales lower year on year, but we ultimately posted a net loss of ¥20.6
billion for the year. Moreover, we were not sufficiently able to foster
new growth in “The Sound Company” business domain, which
consists mainly of musical instruments, audio, music entertainment,
AV/IT, and semiconductors. This remains an issue.
In musical instruments, sales of high-end grand pianos fell
further than anyone predicted in the United States and Japan.
Similarly, professional audio (PA) equipment saw business struggle
from the second half of the year, especially for the corporate
sector. In electronic devices, while we strove to develop new
devices that will replace the sound generator LSIs for mobile
phones that have led our growth to date, we were unfortunately
unable to achieve the kind of outcomes we initially projected.
Ultimately, we had to conclude that under this situation, our
quantitative targets for the “YGP2010” medium-term management
plan will be practically unattainable. I believe, however, that
we were able to promote initiatives in line with the direction
outlined in “YGP2010.”
To put it differently, we made steady progress in enacting
initiatives based on our initial targets. One outcome was the
realignment of our piano factories and other production bases for
musical instruments. Our guitars and electronic drums proved
popular, particularly in the North American market, and the music
entertainment business also did well for the most part. Meanwhile
in emerging markets, which we see as a priority, we posted
double-digit growth, most notably in China.
Although we failed to meet our initial targets,
we edged ahead in enacting the initiatives outlined in the “YGP2010” medium-term management plan.
Business Positioning
*PT: Productive Technologies
(FA, metallic molds, automobile interior
wood components)
“The Sound Company” Business Domain
Diversification Business Domain
Musical instruments,
audio, music entertainment
AV/IT
Semiconductors
Lifestyle-Related
Products
PT*
Recreation
Golf Products
Use sound/music/network-related
technologies as a platform to drive
Groupwide growth by deepening,
expanding and creating business
in the fields of musical instruments/
audio/music entertainment, AV/IT
and devices
Contribute to increasing Group
corporate value by utilizing the
original technologies and insight
built up in the course of Yamaha's
operations to secure strength in
each industry and achieve sound
business management
Annual Report 2009 03