Returning earnings to shareholders is one of the highest priorities at Hanwa. Our basic policy is to pay dividends that reflect performance in each fiscal year. Dividends also take into consideration the need to retain earnings to build a stronger base for future business operations as well as the return on equity and dividend payout ratio.

Our basic policy is to pay interim and year-end dividends in each fiscal year. The board of directors determines the interim dividend and the year-end dividend requires the approval of shareholders.

Retained surplus are used to achieve further gains in corporate value. For this purpose, Hanwa makes effective use of retained surplus to strengthen the operating base and fund growth of established businesses and the development of new businesses.

For fiscal 2009, the year-end dividend was ¥6 per share due to our policy of placing priority on the continuous distribution of earnings to shareholders. Along with the interim dividend of ¥6 per share, this results in a dividend of ¥12 per share applicable to fiscal 2009.

For fiscal 2010, which is the year ending in March 2011, assuming that we achieve our goals for operating results, we plan to pay a dividend of ¥12 per share, the sum of interim and year-end dividends of ¥6 per share each.