2023 was the year we at Proterial embarked on a new journey. It was also a year in which we experienced major changes, including changing our company name and welcoming new shareholders (owners).

 The Bain Consortium provided two areas of value. First, they have management resources and expertise in focus areas such as aircraft and electronics. Second, their perspectives have enabled us to sharpen our focus as we explore future business opportunities and review our business portfolio. I would also like to take this opportunity to once again thank our employees for embracing this major change and for their proactive participation.

 2023 was a year in which the management team, employees, and owners all played their roles in establishing a clear outline for Proterial. Over the next few years, we will accelerate our transformation while implementing our management strategy and acquiring new lines of business to make Proterial a leader on the global stage.

 We are also committed to building a corporate culture at Proterial that is based on our Mission, Vision and Values. Our customers and suppliers expect us to be a professional partner that can solve their problems with cutting-edge, innovative technology. We conduct business based on the three PROs in our company name: Professional (work that exceeds expectations), Progressive (will to continue taking on challenges), and Proactive (a proactive attitude).

 I have adopted the following as my management motto: “A great culture beats a great strategy, but the two in combination is unbeatable.” I fully understand that I have been assigned the important role of fostering a new corporate culture. One of the core values that defines our company culture is that we are accountable to each other. We are responsible for providing our customers with high-quality products and services. We must also take responsibility for what we say and produce results in the form of revenue and profits. We on the management team are also responsible for creating an appropriate working environment for our employees. My goal is to foster a corporate culture where everyone is accountable and takes responsibility for one another and feels empowered to act. Proper delegation of authority is essential to achieving this. We have many different business units, each with its own leader. They understand their businesses best, so it is my job as CEO to listen to them, delegate appropriately, and empower them to solve their own problems. Delegation and accountability give people a sense of ownership over the businesses they're engaged in. We will foster a corporate culture in which each employee takes initiative, understands the environment around them, and puts our corporate philosophy into practice.

 Additionally, our top priorities as a management team are to protect the safety of our employees and ensure product quality. We also constantly encourage our employees to stop production if they notice even the smallest potential safety or quality deficiencies so that those deficiencies can be eliminated. A corporate culture that puts safety and quality first is fostered when all employees understand they have the authority and obligation to act in ways that protect safety and quality, and are empowered to act accordingly.

 We have reviewed management resource allocation and clarified the outline of our business trajectory for FY2023.

 In December 2023, we announced the sale of Waupaca Foundry, Inc., a subsidiary that manufactures and sells iron castings for automobiles in North America. The sale was finalized in early 2024.We also sold Ward, inc., a subsidiary that manufactures and sells piping equipment in North America, in February 2024. We also sold our piping equipment business, one of our oldest businesses, in August 2024. These three companies and businesses have contributed greatly to our business, but we decided to sell them because we believe they can develop and grow more under new ownership.

 At the same time, we have made aggressive investments in our focus areas. We have world-class assets in the aircraft industry, such as our Yasugi Works, which is equipped with a 10,000-ton free forging press and a vacuum melting furnace, and our Okegawa Works, which is equipped with a large ring mill. We supply heat- and corrosion-resistant alloys for jet engine components to the aerospace industry, and we would like to expand our supply to even more customers around the world. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is currently leading an effort to build a strategic aerospace-related supply chain in Japan. Our company's investment in the process of melting and forging large nickel alloy aircraft forgings has been certified in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's supply security plan, under which we expect to receive subsidies of up to 7.5 billion yen. We intend to improve our production base and promote technological development to increase our presence in aerospace-related fields.

 Additionally, silicon nitride and silicon carbide substrates are looking very promising in power electronics fields. They are important components of key devices installed in xEVs and are key to improving xEV performance. We expect significant growth to continue in the future, so we plan to continue making capital investments and promoting technological development while closely monitoring customer trends to further solidify our position as a player in these fields.

 We have also promoted various measures and projects across the company aimed at improving management efficiency and increasing corporate value in the medium to long term.

 Through our strategic pricing project, we are introducing more rigorous and disciplined internal control processes for pricing. We have also promoted a mindset for recognizing how the technology and added value behind our products profits our customers, as well as setting prices commensurate with that value.