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Committed to Easy-to-Understand IR with a Human Face
Benesse pursues IR* activities that give a human face to the Company, with an emphasis on two-way communication with shareholders and investors. We also use IR tools and our website to conduct easy-to-understand IR from the standpoint of investors.
* Short for investor relations. IR activities provide necessary corporate information for making investment decisions to shareholders and other investors in a timely, fair and consistent manner.
Interview
Aiming to Be Admired by More People
Katsuhiko Masumoto
General Manager,
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Department
Corporate Communications Division
and Head of Corporate Secretarial Division
The aim of our IR activities is to help shareholders and other investors understand Benesse and come to like it. IR has a tendency to focus only on the details of business and figures. At Benesse, however, we believe that it is important for people to appreciate our corporate philosophy-helping our customers to “live well”-and to win their admiration. We hope that as a result, they become long-term shareholders. To this end, we also make a point of telling people about Benesse's intangible assets, such as our business model, which is the source of Benesse's strength, and our CSR activities.
The features of Benesse's IR, therefore, are that we give a human face to it and strive to communicate in an easy-to-understand manner. For institutional investors, we conduct more than 300 individual meetings every year, as well as visit investors overseas on a regular basis several times a year. For individual investors, we disseminate information through a website designed for them and investor meetings as well as at the general meeting of shareholders.
At Benesse, we emphasize two-way communication through dialogue with shareholders and other investors, rather than just distributing information. We believe in quickly channeling feedback from the market to management for creating frameworks that can be used in management.
Information Disclosure
Benesse works hard to provide clear and pertinent information to shareholders, individual investors and institutional investors both in Japan and overseas. We provide information as promptly as possible and place great importance on the venues where we can communicate with investors directly, such as individual IR meetings, IR seminars and of course, the annual general shareholders'meeting. The views expressed at these meetings can serve a valuable role in helping Benesse to improve corporate governance. Finally, we strive to provide information via its annual report, website and IR tools that will help investors to understand Benesse fully.
Dialogue with Investors
Investment seminar for individual investors
At Benesse's earnings results announcement sessions, the Vice-Chairman and President make a concerted effort to describe and explain both financial results and business strategies in their own words, and this information is also presented on our IR website. Last year we held a total of 339 individual meetings with institutional investors and securities analysts, an increase of 22 meetings (6.9%) compared with fiscal 2007. At these meetings, representatives provided the investors with in-depth information on both earnings results and the direction that Benesse intends to proceed in future business activities.
Communication with overseas institutional investors is frequent and energetic. The Deputy CEO and Vice-Chairman is in charge of IR activities, and he and representatives from the PR and IR departments travel to Europe, the US and Asia to meet with investors a total of four times a year. Top management communicates with overseas investors in English, in an effort to promote clear understanding. Benesse also takes part in various conferences and investor relations activities organized by securities companies, in order to reach as many investors as possible.
We do our best to communicate clearly to individual investors as well. During fiscal 2008, we organized seminars aimed at individual investors, and particularly women, who represent one of Benesse's main customer groups. The important views expressed in these direct meetings with individual investors, as well as surveys and questionnaires, are used by management as valuable feedback to help improve management and IR activities.
IR Tools
On its website, Benesse discloses all press releases, financial data and information about business activities in a prompt manner, not only providing complete data to site visitors, but also allowing them to download the content and process data in order to enhance the convenience and utility of the website. Explanatory meetings and general shareholders'meetings are videotaped and streaming videos of the events are placed on the website the same day. We also distribute an IR-related e-mail magazine, and conduct other activities aimed at disclosing information in a timely manner. Benesse operates a separate web page aimed at individual investors, known as the Benesse “IR Cafe,” where first-time investors and those who are less well acquainted with Benesse can get an objective view of the company and find videos describing our business activities.
At the “11th Nikkei Annual Report Awards,” Benesse's fiscal 2008 annual report received an award for the seventh consecutive year. The company has also received many awards and high recognition from overseas organizations for the quality of its IR activities. In fiscal 2006 Benesse's annual report received the Silver medal in the “ARC Awards,” and in fiscal 2007 Benesse's IR site received the bronze medal from “iNOVA Awards” in the category of IR-related websites.
General Shareholders'Meeting and Other Shareholder Meetings Held on Non-Working Days to Promote Participation
In order to help increase communication with shareholders, since June 2005 Benesse has employed teleconferencing technology at its annual general shareholders'meeting, to link the Okayama Headquarters and the Tama Head Office in Tokyo in simultaneous transmission. In June 2006, Benesse avoided scheduling the general shareholders' meeting on dates when many other major corporations hold their shareholders meetings, and choose a non-working day so that as many people as possible would be able to attend the meeting in person. In addition, in 2009 we organized a separate shareholder meeting in Tokyo on the Saturday following the general shareholders'meeting; this was the first time that such a meeting was held at a venue other than the Okayama Headquarters. This allowed members of top management to meet face to face with shareholders in Tokyo and give them a more thorough understanding of Benesse's future business plans.
Returning Profits to Shareholders
Benesse has a stated goal of maintaining a dividend payout ratio of at least 35% and increased the dividend for five consecutive years from fiscal 2003. In fiscal 2008, the Company achieved a payout ratio of 84.1%, well above its 35% goal, by paying an annual dividend per share applicable to the fiscal year of ¥90. In fiscal 2008, Benesse also repurchased 3.1 million of its own shares for ¥13,250 million. As a result, as of March 31, 2009, the Company held an aggregate of 8.14 million shares of treasury stock at a cost of ¥27,392 million, representing 7.7% of all issued shares. Benesse also bought back 400,000 shares for ¥1.5 billion in June 2009.
Cash Dividends/Dividend Payout Ratio
Inclusion in SRI Indexes and Funds
Benesse is included in various prestigious socially responsible investment (SRI) indexes and funds both in Japan and overseas based on evaluation of our corporate governance, compliance system, CSR activities and other criteria. Benesse has also been recognized for two straight years as SAM Sector Leader and SAM Sector Mover for its outstanding sustainability performance in the Specialized Consumer Services sector in The Sustainability Yearbook 2009, issued by SAM (Sustainable Asset Management), a Switzerland-based company that manages a global SRI fund.
Benesse's Inclusion in SRI Indexes and Funds
| Index/fund | Rating organization | Factors for which Benesse was rated highly |
|---|---|---|
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes |
SAM (Switzerland) | Sector-leading presence as a sustainable company |
FTSE4Good |
EIRIS (UK) | Approach to governance, equal opportunity, and human rights |
| Global Challenges Index | oekom research (Germany) Hanover Stock Exchange |
Selected as one of the 50 most sustainable companies worldwide; rated highly for employment equality, corporate ethics, and environmental education |
| Morningstar-SRI Index Open | Center for Public Resources Development (Japan) | Compliance, corporate governance, market responsiveness, utilization of women and disabled persons, and other initiatives |
| Daiwa SRI Fund | Integrex (Japan) | Approach to corporate governance and compliance |
| Sumitomo Trust SRI Japan Open (Good Company Fund) | The Japan Research Institute (Japan) | Proactive approach to CSR |
| Mitsubishi UFJ SRI Fund (Family Friendly Fund) | Vigeo Belgium | Excellent performance as a family-friendly company where employees can achieve work-life balance and choose from a variety of working options |
| Chuo Mitsui Trust Social Responsibility Fund (SRI Plan) | Integrex (Japan) | A company that takes deliberate and vigorous action with respect to CSR |
| Asahi Life Socially Responsible Investment Fund (Asu no Hane, “Wings of Tomorrow”) | Vigeo Belgium | Excellent performance as a company that proactively addresses social issues through its businesses |
