To ensure that shareholders and investors can make sound investment decisions, we provide the information they need in a fair, transparent and appropriate way that strives to enhance communication with them.
We communicate with shareholders and investors guided by our disclosure policy. We disclose not only information required by laws or regulations, but also information that promotes deeper stakeholder understanding of our management policies and business activities, including their relation to creating sustainable long-term value.
Our diverse investor relations activities include business strategy meetings for institutional investors and analysts, tours of plants and R&D facilities, participation in brokerage-sponsored investor meetings, and one-on-one meetings with investors and analysts.
The corporate strategy meeting on 2012 Mid-Term Management Plan
In fiscal 2010, we held quarterly financial results briefings and corporate strategy meetings on the 2012 Mid-Term Management Plan, which promotes “Growth Driven by Social Innovation Business” and “Solid Financial Base.” We hosted the first Hitachi IR Day, where company presidents and CEOs explained their businesses strategies under the 2012 Mid-Term Management Plan. Feedback from institutional investors and analysts was positive. One said, "We are better able to understand Hitachi’s businesses …, which I found useful for analysis." We plan to hold this event regularly. We also communicate extensively with individual investors through brokerage-sponsored briefings. We conduct one-on-one meetings with institutional investors and analysts worldwide. We convened more than 600 similar meetings in fiscal 2010, a significant increase over last year. We are doing our best to share IR feedback in-house and reflect this in management and operations.
We are committed to timely disclosure and we post briefings and other materials on our investor relations Web site. A part of the site, specifically designed for individual investors, provides information that cultivates a deeper understanding of the Hitachi Group.
At the ordinary general meeting of shareholders, we offer audio-visual reports designed to give shareholders a thorough understanding of our situation.
After the general meeting of shareholders, our Web site discloses management policy explanations from the president for shareholders and investors. We post notices of general meetings of shareholders earlier than legally required to give stakeholders more time to consider our proposals.
Trends in Shareholder Composition
The Hitachi Group performed well in external assessments as a socially responsible and sustainability investment.
In fiscal 2010, DJSI World, a leading global sustainability investment index, chose Hitachi, Ltd. as a component stock for the second year in a row. This benchmark assesses the sustainability of around 2,500 companies worldwide, first looking at economic, environmental, and social development, then selecting the top 10 percent of companies in each industry. We received the highest score in our industry for our new economic criteria for brand management and new environmental criteria for water-related risks. Our environmental initiatives scored the highest among all the companies. We also made the Silver Class in the Sustainability Yearbook 2011, published in February 2011, by SAM*2 and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Results of External SRI Assessments in Fiscal 2010
| Institution | Index | Companies selected |
|---|---|---|
| SAM | DJSI*1 World | Hitachi, Ltd. |
| DJSI Asia Pacific Index | Hitachi, Ltd. / Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. | |
| EIRIS | FTSE4Good Global Index*2 | Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. / Hitachi Capital Corp. / Hitachi High-Technologies Corp. / Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. / Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. |
| Morningstar | SRI Index | Hitachi, Ltd. / Hitachi Cable, Ltd. / Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. / Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. / Hitachi High-Technologies Corp. / Hitachi Transport System, Ltd. |
We invest considerable management resources in basic research for the future and for the development of pioneering products and businesses. To ensure that these management measures bear fruit, it is necessary to maintain the continuity of management policies over a certain period of time. To this end, we keep shareholders and investors informed not only about management results for each term but also management measures looking ahead to the future.
We do not deny the significance of stimulating corporate activities or the economy through the transfer of management control rights. However, regarding large purchases of Hitachi and Hitachi Group companies’ shares, it is necessary to cautiously assess the impact that such a purchase or purchase proposal would have on our corporate value and shareholders’ joint profits, based on considerations such as the purchaser’s business profile, future plans, and past investment behavior.
At present there is no imminent concern that any particular party will acquire a large amount of Hitachi’s shares, and we have not established any special measures (anti-takeover measures), should such a purchaser appear.
Nevertheless, as a natural duty to our shareholders and investors, we constantly monitor Hitachi share transactions and movements, and if a party appears attempting to purchase large amounts of shares, we will immediately take the measures considered appropriate. Specifically, this will mean assessing the purchase proposal with the assistance of external experts, as well as negotiating with the purchaser. In addition, when such an acquisition does not contribute to our corporate value and the joint profits of shareholders, we will promptly determine the need for and contents of specific countermeasures, and set up a framework for their implementation. A similar response will be made in the event of any attempt to purchase large amounts of the shares of any Hitachi Group company.
