Message from our CEO

Namihei Odaira founded Hitachi under a mission “to contribute to society through the development of superior, original technology and products.” Since our founding, Hitachi has contributed to the advancement of social infrastructure that supports people’s lives. Over the course of our 116 year history, we have grown alongside society while taking on those social challenges that emerge with changing times.

Under this unchanging mission, we are accelerating transformation based on the current management plan Inspire 2027, aiming to achieve a Harmonized Society where the environment, wellbeing and economic growth are in balance.

Fiscal 2025 was the first year of Inspire 2027, and, despite an extremely uncertain business environment, we capitalized on market needs for sustainable social infrastructure. As a result, we saw growth in the power grids business, rail control business, and Japanese IT business, while expanding the Lumada business, which serves as a source of continuous and stable revenue, across all sectors. As a result of our efforts, revenues rose 8% year on year to 10,586.7 billion yen with an Adj. EBITA margin of 12.4%. Net income amounted to 802.3 billion yen, core free cash flow was 1,170.2 billion yen and ROIC was 12.4%. These three results represent record highs for the group and a strong start under Inspire 2027. However, we will not be complacent.The world is at a major turning point, marked by geopolitical risks, increasingly severe climate change and advances in AI-driven technological innovation.In particular, advances in physical AI, which exerts direct control over the real world, will transform the very nature of social infrastructure. For Hitachi, these changes present opportunities for further growth and value creation. At the same time, these changes signal a new phase of competition with peers around the world.

Incorporating physical AI into social infrastructure is an area where Hitachi, which has supported mission-critical social infrastructure for generations, truly demonstrates our value. High reliability and safety are essential in the field of physical AI, where a single error could have a significant negative impact on social infrastructure. Hitachi has a long history of supporting social infrastructure around the world across a wide range of business fields. We have not only brought numerous products and systems to the market, but we have also built a vast treasury of data and expertise from practical operations. We will analyze this data using domain knowledge and AI to offer digital services that enhance on-site safety and productivity. In this way, we will create new value for our customers and society, fulfilling our commitment to becoming a world-leading Digital Infrastructure Company that continues to digitally transform social infrastructure that supports people’s lives.

One concrete example is HMAX, our AI-powered, recurring Digital Service. HMAX leverages on-site data and domain knowledge that we have built up over generations and optimizes resource utilization and reduces environmental impact by extending the service life of equipment, improving energy efficiency and so forth. At the same time, HMAX enhances safety and productivity, supporting the creation of resilient social infrastructure.

Trust from society is the foundation of everything we are and do. Our founding spirit, consisting of Wa (harmony), Makoto (sincerity) and Kaitakusha-seishin (pioneering spirit), as well as a fundamental emphasis on Basics and Ethics to do the right thing, has been a shared value guiding our work at Hitachi for many generations. These elements are systematically organized into our sustainability strategy, PLEDGES, in light of current social challenges and the evolving business environment.

Sustainability is the foundation of our management that drives us to solve social issues through our businesses and to achieve continuous growth. We strive to achieve the pre-financial targets under the strategic pillars of PLEDGES, including themes of decarbonization, circular economy, human capital, health and safety, quality, sustainable procurement and human rights. At the same time, we seek to enhance effectiveness by incorporating them into the evaluation of executive compensation.

Among the tangible accomplishments, we achieved a 64% reduction in GHG emissions, exceeding our fiscal 2025 target of 60%, through the adoption of energy-saving equipment and the expanded use of renewable energy sources as part of our efforts to achieve carbon neutrality at our business sites by fiscal 2030. In addition, we are accelerating investments in the human capital that will drive future value creation and steadily building our talent base. As an example, we expanded our pool of AI professionals to 39,000, making significant progress toward our fiscal 2027 target of 50,000. On the other hand, while we fell short of our health and safety targets, we are reinforcing our efforts in this area as one of management’s highest priorities. To ensure a safe working environment free from serious accidents, including those involving contractors and partner companies, we are strengthening measures across the Group. To advance the implementation of physical AI in mission-critical areas, we must establish robust governance that ensures the reliability, transparency, and accountability of AI while respecting human rights and privacy. In parallel, we must develop diverse talent that supports our growth strategy and strengthen engagement with business partners. These initiatives are woven into PLEDGES. Our steady execution of PLEDGES not only underpins the trust earned from our customers, but also serves as the source of Hitachi’s sustained competitiveness. As One Hitachi, we will continue to embed PLEDGES in our decision-making and actions, enhancing business resilience through the achievement of pre-financial targets while steadily capturing new opportunities for growth. By pursuing improvements in both our pre-financial value and financial value together, we will achieve sustainable growth in corporate value.

The social infrastructure of the future will require even greater levels of society-wide optimization through the tight interconnection of diverse systems and operations.

We are confident that we can contribute to the realization of a Harmonized Society by becoming a Digital Infrastructure Company that leverages IT, OT and product technologies and expertise accumulated over many years, combined with a unified collection of diverse businesses and human capital.

Every one of our 290,000 employees will continue to share the unwavering mission of contributing to society. Together, we will create wellbeing and a sustainable society through greater environmental, social and economic value, working with our stakeholders for a better future.