Described below are the main factors identified as posing material risks for the financial state, business performance, and cash flow of the OKI Group (i.e., the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries).
These risks were determined by the OKI Group as of March 31,2024.
Note that this list is not intended to be exhaustive. The OKI Group recognizes these and other risks and will strive to minimize their impact.
Demand for the OKI Group's products is affected by political and economic conditions in the various regions where the OKI Group sells its products, both inside and outside Japan.
The OKI Group's overseas markets include the Americas, Europe and Asia, and sales in these regions were 49.7 billion yen (11.8% of consolidated sales) during the fiscal year under review. Should energy shortages, price increases, or supply chain disruptions occur in in these regions and other regions including overseas markets, demand for OKI Group products may contract, or manufacturing delays may occur in hardware products due to shortages in the supply of semiconductors and other components, which may affect the OKI Group's business performance and financial status.
In addition, the OKI Group's business performance and financial status may be affected by economic downturns caused by sharp monetary tightening in various countries and the resulting contraction in demand, import restrictions on products, and changes in laws and regulations in each region, such as environmental regulations that are being strengthened worldwide and changes in information protection regulations in various countries.
With regard to overseas sales in each business, the Group regularly monitors the sales status, and strives to recognize the impact of political and economic fluctuations in overseas countries as early as possible. The Company recognizes the need to take appropriate measures, such as identifying and responding to trends in various regulations and laws at the Head Office in Japan and preventing excessive concentration of sales in individual regions. In addition, we are working to reduce the impact of supply chain disruptions by increasing the number of suppliers and adapting to replacement parts through design changes.
The OKI Group has 30 subsidiaries abroad and operates numerous sales and production facilities. The main production and manufacturing facilities are located in Thailand and Vietnam; major sales facilities are located in Europe, the United States, China, and India.
In these countries and regions, there is a possibility of social disorder, production, and distribution stagnation caused by the spread of infectious diseases, pollution-related diseases, and other diseases. As a result, there is a possibility that the business itself will be adversely affected due to obstacles in the procurement of raw materials and parts and delays in production.
Furthermore, the Group recognizes that these countries pose the risk of coup d'état, dispute, revolution, or social disorder caused by revolt, terrorism, or natural disasters, leading to the seizure or expropriation of OKI Group's assets or harm to its personnel or property.
In the event of an increase in such risk or a specific crisis event, the Group believes it is necessary to secure alternative means, such as securing alternative raw material parts and distribution routes, transferring the functions of related bases, and securing complementary personnel in the event of a shortage of human resources due to such effects.
The Group also recognizes that it is necessary to accurately analyze the events that have occurred and consider measures, including withdrawal, if it is judged that appropriate business operations cannot be continued due to profitability, etc.
The OKI Group is engaged in overseas business development and the production of key products, and is exposed to currency exchange risks that may be affected by political and economic conditions in Japan and abroad. As a result, the OKI Group's financial state, business performance, and cash flow may be affected. In response, the Group implements risk hedging through measures including forward foreign exchange contracts and married transactions to address imbalances in positions held of foreign currency assets and liabilities. The Group also refrains from speculative trading. Through these measures, the OKI Group strives to minimize the impact of foreign exchange.
In the consolidated fiscal year under review, when the exchange rate depreciates by 1 yen, the impact of each currency on operating income will be improved by approximately 100 million yen for the euro due to an increase in profit in Europe and deteriorated by approximately 200 million yen for the U.S. dollar due to an increase in procurement and manufacturing costs.
The OKI Group's interest-bearing debts are subject to fluctuations in financial markets and interest rates. Its total balance of long-term and short-term debts stood at 110.0 billion yen. Its debt/equity ratio was 0.8. Interest paid during this consolidated fiscal year was 2.3 billion yen. Developments such as rising interest rates on funds borrowed or restriction on methods of raising funds in response to fluctuations in financial markets or in the OKI Group's credit rating may impact the OKI Group's financial state, business performance, and cash flow.
With regard to debts, alongside measures like interest rate swap transactions, the Group strives to maintain sound debt levels. The impact of rising interest rates on the OKI Group appears extremely limited.
In the event of a stock market downturn or asset management environment deterioration, the value of the listed stocks and pension assets held by the OKI Group may decline, and the business performance and financial position of the OKI Group may be affected by the recording of valuation losses and a decrease in net assets.
As for cross-shareholdings, the OKI Group strives to reduce the number of shares each year by taking both quantitative and qualitative factors into consideration for each stock.
Pension assets are invested in corporate pension funds. Investment targets etc. are drafted by the Investment Management Committee and then decided at the Board of Trustees. Members of both committees include employee representatives as well as people with expertise in the finance and human resources departments, appointed by the Company.
In the various regions in which it does business, both inside and outside Japan, the OKI Group is naturally subject to various laws and regulations, including business and investment permits, national security, environment-related laws and regulations, information protection regulations, foreign trade and foreign exchange laws and regulations, competition laws and regulations, regulations related to bribery, and import and export regulations implemented for purposes related to economic sanctions and etc., and tax systems.
In Japan, it is also subject to laws and regulations, including laws and technical standards for products and services, the Subcontract Act, the Construction Business Act, and the Industrial Safety and Health Act, as well as the Basic Act on Cybersecurity, etc. in connection with the Internet and other advanced information and telecommunications networks.
Failure to comply with these laws and regulations (including similar laws and regulations) in Japan and overseas could result in additional costs and impede our business activities. In addition, we could lose the trust of our customers and society, resulting in an impact on the OKI Group's business performance and financial status.
The OKI Group promotes compliance with all laws and regulations that apply to its businesses, including those named above. Compliance efforts are implemented through an integrated Groupwide structure that includes the designation of sections responsible for managing compliance, efforts to promote employee training, and efforts to monitor the state of compliance, thereby ensuring thorough compliance within the Group.
In addition, as necessary, measures are taken with the cooperation of lawyers, consultants and other experts as well as professional organizations.
If each item is also related to laws and regulations, the impact of laws and regulations is indicated in the relevant item.
From this fiscal year, the first year of the Medium-Term Business Plan 2025, the OKI Group has reorganized its business segments into 4 new business areas to proactively engage in new business areas as well as existing business areas in order to resolve social issues through Mono-zukuri(product manufacturing) and Koto-zukuri(creation of solutions and services).
Specifically, the OKI Group is divided into 4 business areas: Public Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, Component Products, and EMS. The OKI Group is developing business activities by formulating comprehensive strategies for products and services handled in Japan and overseas. The following is a list of items that may affect the OKI Group's business performance and financial status in each business.
In the business domain of this business, we provide mission-critical solutions based on the social infrastructure market such as firefighting, disaster prevention, transportation, and defense.
In the consolidated fiscal year under review, net sales were 94 billion yen and operating income was 4.4 billion yen, accounting for 22% of consolidated net sales.
In the business domain of this business, we are working to capture renewal demand mainly in firefighting and disaster prevention by introducing differentiated new products by incorporating customer needs, utilizing our considerable extensive experience in market introduction and business know-how.
Furthermore, for new domains such as railway operators, road operators, and the ocean, OKI is working to provide platforms specialized for individual customer operations by utilizing sensing and network technologies centered on the edge domain, which are OKI's strengths, and by deepening the utilization of data acquired from edge devices.
Expectations for DX in the social infrastructure market are high, and there is a need to provide new value such as improving efficiency through utilization of real-time data, analysis and prediction, and ensuring safety using 5G communications, AI, and cloud environments. We have started to contribute to traffic analysis and safety measures using traffic probes, and to develop an optical access communication system to realize Beyond5G in 2030.
PMI in the aviation instrument business, which we took over on April 1, 2022, has progressed steadily, and we have taken a step toward stabilizing and growing business operations.
Risks in this domain include delays in product supply caused by delays in the recovery of the supply chain centered on the supply of parts and materials, problems related to the quality of products sold in the past, and a decline in sales and profits caused by the loss of orders for projects.
In addition, since digitalization plays an important role in energy conservation and CO2 reduction from the perspective of the environment and energy, digitalization in the social infrastructure market will continue to accelerate, and if we fall behind in the development and utilization of technologies to follow this trend, we may miss out on capturing business opportunities in new areas.
In addition, if we fail to respond quickly to changes in customer needs, we may not be able to capture business as planned.
However, we will enhance our ability to respond to changes in the supply chain environment in Japan and overseas by promoting in-house manufacturing to address business risks caused by delays in the recovery of the supply chain.
In addition, through active investment in research and development, we will develop new products, services, and technologies, gain and improve our competitive advantage, and seize new business opportunities to expand our business.
The business domain of this business consists of a product business that provides various mechatronic products (automated terminals and equipment), a solution business that provides various financial, transportation passenger and manufacturing related systems, and a service business that provides monitoring, installation, operation and maintenance of ATMs through recurring services through full outsourcing.
In the consolidated fiscal year under review, net sales were 180.1 billion yen and operating income was 22 billion yen, accounting for 43% of consolidated net sales. In this business domain, we provide a wide range of products such as cash processing machines, ATMs and ticketing terminals to a wide range of customers mainly in social infrastructure. There are two major changes in the business environment. The first is the labor shortage due to the declining birthrate and aging population, and the second is the towards reducing physical items, such as cashless and paperless systems. Seizing these changes as business opportunities, we will strengthen our lineup of products that realize self-sufficiency and labor saving. Furthermore, we will provide these products to our partner customers as modules that can be easily incorporated.
In addition, as a new market, we will invest in research and development to solve issues related to labor and labor shortages in various industries, such as support equipment for manual work in the medical field, audit work, self-sufficiency and automation equipment at airports, and assembly support tools at manufacturing sites.
We work with suppliers to ensure stable procurement of parts and raw materials. However, if production activities at suppliers are suspended due to natural disasters or accidents, it may be difficult to procure parts and raw materials. If such an event occurs, production may be affected and business performance may be affected.
In response to such procurement risks of parts and raw materials, we have established a system to strengthen cooperation with suppliers and promote the adoption of alternative parts and materials in order to minimize the impact when procurement issues are detected.
This business engages in direct and indirect sales to manufacturers as well as OEM business, and provides products related to sensing, AI, communications, and data output. We will create new edge devices by leveraging a system that can integrate core technologies of printers and IoT devices.
In the consolidated fiscal year under review, net sales were 73.4 billion yen and operating income was 600 million yen, accounting for 17% of consolidated net sales.
The printer business handled in this field is expanding overseas, and taking advantage of our strengths of having sales, production, and development bases globally, as well as having many partners related to research and development, we will utilize these assets in other products. In particular, for edge devices, which are positioned as growth areas, we are aiming to enter the carbon neutral and infrastructure monitoring market, and are cultivating the business and turning it into a self-sustaining business by 2031 while promoting overseas expansion of our domestic achievements and alliances in Japan and overseas.
In addition, by taking advantage of our strengths such as communication technology, which has advantages of no power supply and low power consumption, and miniaturization and mechatronic technology, which has advantages in installation in small spaces, we will develop products in the infrastructure monitoring market, where future growth is expected.
On the other hand, the market for printers and PBXs is changing from mature to decreasing, and it is unavoidable to reduce the business in this field.
Furthermore, when developing products globally, there are concerns that they will not be accepted by the market if they cannot comply with local regulations.
In response to these risks, we will strengthen our sales capabilities for printers and PBXs and take measures to maintain market share in order to minimize the impact and maximize residual profits. In addition, we will quickly grasp regulatory information in each country and apply it to products, while providing products that further improve environmental performance such as energy and resource conservation.
This business domain mainly consists of EMS/DMS (design and manufacturing contract service business), parts business, and engineering business, and provides comprehensive monozukuri services covering design, manufacturing, and reliability testing. In the consolidated fiscal year under review, net sales were 73.9 billion yen, and operating income was 1.1 billion yen, accounting for 18% of consolidated net sales.
In this business domain, we view this as an opportunity to return to domestic production due to the recent expansion of country risk, and to expand the use of EMS in Japan due to labor shortages. We aim to be a manufacturing platformer that supports the production side of customers' problems by providing comprehensive monozukuri services that take advantage of our strength in handling high-quality and variable-variable production. Our sales, technology, and production teams will work together to ensure that OKI's advanced technological capabilities meet the needs of customers.
As for risks, delays in the provision of products and services are expected due to the resurgence of supply chain problems such as difficulties in obtaining parts and materials due to the expansion of demand for semiconductor components, as well as production capacity shortages due to a shortage of human resources. In addition, if we are unable to develop new technologies or create new products and services, or if we are unable to keep up with fluctuations in customer demand due to changes in market conditions, there is a concern that a decline in sales could adversely affect our business performance.
However, in response to business risks in the EMS business, we will respond to delays in the provision of products and services by improving productivity through the advance arrangement of parts and materials and the promotion of automation. We will also achieve business growth by strengthening resources for the creation of new products and services and eliminating the risk of a decline in sales by diversifying our business portfolio.
The OKI Group's business performance and financial position may be affected if it is unable to follow market trends in the four business segments described in Item 6, design products and services that meet customer needs, fail to create new products and technologies due to ineffective R & D and innovation outside of existing businesses, or fail to build new businesses that can generate new revenue sources.
In particular, from this fiscal year, the first year of the Medium-Term Business Plan 2025, we have newly established the Technology Division, which is responsible for technology development management as a company-wide organization, and the Innovation Business Development Center, which is responsible for accelerating the development of new businesses. By strengthening these functions, we will establish a structure that will not be shaken by changes in the external environment, and that will enable us to demonstrate our comprehensive strengths as the OKI Group, in order to raise our business capabilities.
OKI has constructed an innovation management system (IMS), "YumePro," in anticipation of the international standard ISO56002, and is implementing "full participation innovation" throughout the company. Since fiscal 2023, the system has been put into full operation as practice-mode innovation activities, accelerating the materiality of "transforming into a corporate culture that continuously creates value," while at the same time taking on the challenge of creating future businesses and global expansion.
Based on ISO56002, OKI is increasing the resolution of its business by reducing 4 aspects (Demand risk, feasibility risk, business environment risk, income and expenditure risk) toward commercialization. In addition, since the aspects to be reduced differ depending on the stage of the innovation process, it is important to carefully check how these aspects have been reduced when stepping up at each stage to improve the resolution.
In the Medium-Term Business Plan 2025, this innovation function is positioned as the activity itself of creating future businesses, and it is made clear that by evolving the manufacturing infrastructure and innovation activities within the group, and applying the technologies and processes cultivated there to solutions, products, and services, we will create value and contribute to the challenges of society and customers. In addition to strengthening OKI's edge technologies such as information and communications technology, sensing technology, and component technologies necessary for self-actualization and automation, we will also focus on data management, and promote the creation of a platform for deepening the utilization of data obtained from real sites in the focus areas of "social infrastructure, "" manufacturing, " and "ocean. ". In addition, we are accelerating the commercialization on a global scale in the areas of "Advanced Remote Operations, "" Logistics, " "Healthcare/Medical Care, " and" Crystal Film Bonding (CFB). ". In the logistics area, we will launch a delivery plan optimization service and promote the development of a remote DX platform that realizes advanced remote operation. At the same time, we will steadily advance the commercialization of new businesses while co-creating with customers.
If we are unable to appropriately grasp technological innovation in the market and changes in society and respond to changes in customer needs, or if we fail to make progress in the integration and reuse of technology development common across the OKI Group, the research and development efficiency and performance of the OKI Group as a whole may be affected.
In the Medium-Term Business Plan 2025, in order to envision medium- to long-term growth from the 4 business domains, we have proposed the technology concept "Edge Platform" and are working to strengthen technology from the perspectives of AI, data and components. From the perspective of AI and data, we are promoting the sharing of data through data management functions and strengthening platform technology to promote them, and in analog technology and data analysis technology, which are strengths of OKI, we are promoting the collaboration of generative AI, which is rapidly developing, and the standardization of components across business fields.
We recognize that continuous activities for these technological developments are essential for the achievement of the Medium-Term Business Plan and the subsequent medium- to long-term growth.
The OKI Group will promote strong manufacturing throughout the group by organically connecting its production sites to improve cost competitiveness and maximize added value.
In addition, the OKI Group will develop cutting-edge production technologies and deploy them to each production site to further improve production efficiency.
The OKI Group will continue to focus on accelerating product development, reallocating resources to growth areas, and developing deeper businesses in existing markets in an effort to grow and sustain its business.
The OKI Group undertook a major reorganization in fiscal 2023 in order to speedily implement business strategies for sustainable growth.
The OKI Group's business performance and financial status may be affected if the procurement activities of the OKI Group result in material procurement shortages due to unforeseen events such as natural disasters, conflicts, terrorism, etc. in Japan and overseas, or changes in the business policies of suppliers, or unexpected events such as a change in business policy by a supplier, or if the operating rate of the OKI Group's own plants decreases as a result of these events.
In addition, human rights violations in the supply chain could affect the operations of suppliers and pose a risk of shortages or delays in material procurement, which could affect the performance of the OKI Group.
The OKI Group procures specific products, parts and materials from multiple suppliers.
In the event of a material shortage or the suspension of production facilities, the OKI Group has established a system to secure alternative suppliers, alternative production facilities and appropriate inventory management, etc. In addition, by conducting CSR surveys of suppliers, the Company will promote initiatives that take into consideration the risk of human rights violations, etc. Through these measures, the OKI Group strives to minimize the impact of procurement-related risks.
The OKI Group has concluded intellectual property-related contracts and technological support contracts with multiple firms. Failure to properly execute these contracts, unequitable terms or conditions, or failure to promptly utilize the relevant intellectual property or technical assistance may have impact on related businesses in Japan and overseas within the OKI Group.
The OKI Group's products and services effectively utilize the OKI Group's own technologies, as reflected in their performance across a wide range of aspects. On the other hand, we respect the intellectual property of others and conduct infringement prevention investigations to ensure that we do not conduct such investigations without permission into the OKI Group's products and services.
Among other activities, the specialized intellectual property (IP) and legal sections undertake a careful review of such contracts. At the same time, we are actively engaged in the development and assignment of specialized human resources and in cooperation with experienced and knowledgeable lawyers in Japan and overseas.
The OKI Group strives to control, as much as possible, the impact of risks related to intellectual property-related contracts or technological assistance.
The OKI Group strives to ensure the quality of its products and services by conducting strict quality control at its production sites and production contractors in Japan and overseas. If the OKI Group cannot guarantee quality responsibility, it may incur costs for recall procedures and liability and expenses for compensation to customers due to defects. In addition, the OKI Group may incur substantial costs for countermeasures against defects. In addition, the OKI Group's corporate and product brands may be damaged due to the defects, which may cause a loss of customer confidence and adversely affect its business performance.
In response, in line with the OKI Group's Quality Philosophy, the Group strives to improve quality in business processes from product planning through manufacture, maintenance, and operations by assigning quality responsibility and authority to each business and maintaining a quality management system tailored to the characteristics of each individual business.
Information related to quality issues is centrally managed as a group and shared with the relevant departments in a timely and appropriate manner in an effort to respond promptly.
With regard to safety in particular, going beyond mere legal and regulatory compliance, it strives to secure safety and peace of mind in accordance with its Product Safety Basic Policy.
In addition, education, quality questionnaires, on-site surveys, and other measures are implemented to ensure thorough implementation of the system to prevent quality fraud.
For this reason, the OKI Group strives to minimize the impact of quality-related risks.
The OKI Group pursues a wide range of efforts, including alliances with other companies, business acquisitions, and mergers of affiliate companies in Japan and overseas in areas such as research and development, manufacturing, and sales, with the aim of expanding business scope and improving management efficiency. We believe that these activities are effective means to strengthen the Group's business portfolio. They will lead to the effective utilization of management resources such as technology, customer base, and human resources possessed by both companies, thereby directly creating opportunities for sustainable business growth.
Nevertheless, the OKI Group's business performance and financial status may be affected by failure to maintain the anticipated ties to its counterparties in such arrangements with regard to matters business strategies, the development of products and technologies, and fundraising, by unequitable contract terms or conditions, unilateral cancellation by a counterparty, breach of contract by a counterparty, or if the market targeted by M&As or alliances does not develop as expected.
At the beginning of transactions with counterparties, at the beginning of transactions with counterparties, it conducts a credit check on the counterparties and uses consultants, and at the conclusion of various contracts, it conducts a thorough examination of the contents by a specialized department related to internal intellectual property and legal affairs, conducts market research, etc., in an effort to minimize the impact of M & A and alliance risks.
In its production activities, certain OKI Group plants use and emit chemicals and other substances that may lead to air, water, soil, or other pollution. The Group also generates CO2 emissions indirectly through its use of electricity and other types of energy at its plants and offices and through the use of its products by end users.
As for the transition risk (the social change risk associated with climate change), there is a rapidly growing demand from investors, customers, etc. for the control of greenhouse gas emissions through the introduction of renewable energy, etc. Failure to meet these demands, or inability to utilize OKI's strengths in IoT, AI, and control technologies for business opportunities associated with climate change, may result in lost sales opportunities.
In addition, the physical risk (risk of severe wind and flood damage due to the impact of climate change), include the risk of loss of assets at business sites, suspension of operations, and disruption of supply chains due to damage to our plants and those of suppliers.
Moreover, there is the risk of environmental pollution exceeding the permissible level due to wind and flood damage. If environmental pollution occurs, there is the risk of incurring liability for damages or losing sales opportunities.
In order to reduce these risks, the OKI Group has acquired ISO 14001 integrated certification, and is promoting compliance with environmental laws and regulations, activities to reduce environmental impact, monitoring of environmental data, consideration of the introduction of renewable energy, climate change BCP/BCM, and expansion of environmental contribution sales.
As part of these efforts, in the OKI Group Medium- to Long-Term Environmental Vision 2030/2050, the Group was certified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), an international initiative, for its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for fiscal 2030, which are consistent with scientific knowledge. In the revision made in 2023, the OKI Group set a goal of achieving net 0 emissions throughout the value chain, including its own sites, as the target for fiscal 2050, and aims to obtain SBT certification for this long-term target as well. To achieve this goal, we are promoting the introduction of renewable energy at our own sites, including the acquisition of ZEB (Net Zero Energy Building) certification at the H1 building of the Honjo Plant, the first large-scale production facility in Japan. We are also working to reduce the power consumption of our products.
The Group believes that these activities limit the environmental risks associated with the OKI Group.
The OKI Group uses and operates a wide variety of computer systems in its internal operations. With regard to the use and operation of the system, in order to implement appropriate use, avoid system trouble, and prevent information leakage outside the company, it takes various measures such as the establishment of various manuals, the proper handling of system equipment, and various measures such as the encryption of information and the introduction of multi-factor authentication, etc..
However, we recognize that even if we take preventive measures, there is a possibility that systems may be shut down, data may be lost or falsified, or information such as personal information or confidential information may be leaked due to external cyber attacks, computer virus infections, improper handling of system equipment, etc., and that the occurrence of such events may cause reputational risks such as damage to corporate value and brand, and deterioration of trust.
In particular, cyber-attacks targeting companies have frequently occurred. In the past, the OKI Group also experienced unauthorized access to its file servers in Japan by a third party through the servers of an overseas subsidiary. In response to this incident, the OKI Group has strengthened its countermeasures, including the introduction of endpoint security tools to all terminals and the establishment of a 24 hour, 365 day monitoring system.
In order to minimize such situations, the OKI Group has repeatedly implemented thorough employee education, monitored system operation, and developed a system for promoting information security. In particular, we are taking corrective and strengthening measures for newly identified issues.
In order for the OKI Group to understand the needs of society and its customers and to continue to provide optimal products and services, it is necessary to secure diversity and suitable human resources in all areas from management to the workplace, and to ensure that each individual demonstrates his or her full potential.
The cohort of employees in their 50s is OKI Group's largest, and an increased number of departures is expected in the future.
In addition, it is expected that competition in the labor market will be fierce for personnel who can understand market needs and connect these with DX initiatives, who can play an active role globally, and who can realize competitive manufacturing.
Against this backdrop, the OKI Group's medium- to long-term business promotion in the future may be affected if it is unable to supplement departing employees or secure the human resources required in its business plan. In order to secure human resources sufficient in terms of both quality and quantity, the OKI Group has achieved an increase in recruitment by reviewing and strengthening its recruitment methods and developing various recruitment formats and channels, etc., and is developing human resources based on the spread of full-participation innovation, shift personnel between businesses, and utilize senior human resources.
In addition, we are working to create a workplace where diverse human resources can proactively play an active role. This includes the introduction of a new executive employee grading system and evaluation system centered on roles and performance, the expansion of systems to facilitate a way of working that is not restricted by time or place, the development of a career-enhancing environment where people can gain a lot of learning and experience, and organizational culture reforms aimed at improving employee engagement and promoting health management.