Since our establishment as a pump manufacturer in 1912, EBARA Group has been supporting the improvement of society and the global environment by expanding our business to address the changing needs of society and contributing to the development of a wide range of liquid and gas transportation technologies necessary for industry and life all over the world.
In relatively unstable and difficult to read circumstances, we have a responsibility to indicate our vision, policies and strategies for the future, and we have done so within “E-Vision 2030.” A key message of the long-term vision is “Technology. Passion. Support our globe,” and we aim to further our contributions toward the SDGs through the pursuit of solutions to our identified material issues to contribute to the creation of a sustainable society, while simultaneously increasing the social/environmental value and economic value we generate. We believe this will earn us greater corporate value and recognition as an excellent global company.
The Medium-term Management Plan: E-Plan 2022, was created by reviewing and clarifying issues that remained from the previous medium-term management plan, in addition to back casting of the kinds of issues we must face to achieve our Long-term Vision: E-Vision 2030.
For more details about E-Vision 2030 and E-Plan 2022, please refer to the following documents:
In 2021, the impact of COVID-19 caused a parts shortage and resultant procurement difficulties, as well as an increase in raw material prices, logistics costs and other expenses. However, we were able to curb their impact on our business performance through countermeasures in each business. On the other hand, in the fourth quarter, businesses including the Standard Pumps and Chillers businesses began to show signs of deterioration due in part to the soaring prices of raw materials.
We believe that our business opportunities will expand in 2022, mainly reflecting better investment sentiment among our customers that will be a result of the shortage of semiconductors, the expansion of capital investment in the semiconductor market, and the rise in crude oil prices in the oil and gas market.
In the current fiscal year, the final year of E-Plan 2022, we will steadily address the remaining issues, implement new measures, and make every effort to achieve the goals of the medium-term management plan and the business forecast for the year.
Regarding shareholder returns, we have reached the maximum amount of JPY20 billion announced in May 2021 for the repurchase of treasury shares. We cancelled all of the 3.51 million acquired shares on January 31, 2022. Our dividend policy is to link dividends to business performance, with a target consolidated payout ratio of 35% or higher. In accordance with this, the annual dividend per share is planned to be JPY163 for 2021 and expected to be JPY170 for 2022.
The first stage of E-Vision 2030, E-Plan 2022, has entered its final year. We will continue to make steady progress in each of our measures under the theme of "Reconstruct the foundations of growth" to lead us to the next stage of growth.
Moving forward, we will continue to use our fundamental founding spirit of “Netsu to Makoto” (Passion and Dedication) and the technologies we’ve created to solve global social issues in order to realize a sustainable society and develop dynamic and abundant lifestyles. We will consistently do work that contributes to society so that society will recognize our businesses as valuable and enriching, enabling us to continue into the future. That’s the kind of company we want to be.