Furukawa places great importance on improving returns of profits to all shareholders. Our basic policy is to policy on dividends after comprehensive consideration of various factors, We will consider increasing annual dividends and paying interim dividends, prioritizing investments to achieve sustainable growth and enhance corporate value over the medium to long terms. In principle, we aim to pay annual dividends of ¥50.00 per share or higher with a consolidated total return on capital of at least 3%.

We will continue to consider the acquisition and cancellation of treasury stock as appropriate, taking into account stock price trends, capital efficiency, cash flow, and other relevant factors. Initially, we had set a guideline for treasury stock acquisition at approximately 5 billion yen over the three fiscal years from March 2024 to March 2026. However, on February 10, 2025, we announced an additional acquisition of up to 10 billion yen or 7 million shares, increasing the total amount to approximately 13 billion yen over three years.

Regarding the reduction of cross-held stocks, each year, we conduct a thorough review of individual stocks to evaluate their holding purposes, as well as the benefits and risks associated with holding them. This evaluation includes determining whether they align with the capital costs and takes into account both qualitative and quantitative perspectives to verify the appropriateness of their continued holding. For stocks deemed unnecessary to retain, we strive for reduction through timely sales, while continuously disclosing the ratio of cross-held stocks to consolidated net assets as an indicator. On February 9, 2024, we announced a goal to reduce this ratio to below 20% by the end of March 2026. Later, on May 13, 2024, we revised the goal to achieve this target one year earlier, by the end of March 2025. By March 2025, the ratio of cross-held stocks to consolidated net assets was successfully reduced to 16.6%, achieving the target.

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