Shareholders & Investors
- Encouraging sound investment decisions and improving the quality of management -
IR/SR Policies and Guidelines
At Epson we recognize that to sustain growth and increase corporate value long-term, we must increase the transparency of management and forge lasting partnerships and relationships of trust through honest dialogue with stakeholders. Accordingly, we have articulated a policy on the disclosure of information to shareholders, investors, and other stakeholders and, in line with this policy, are enhancing our investor relations and sustainability reporting (IR & SR) and engaging in constructive dialogue.
The president, the officer in charge of IR & SR, or managers in the IR & SR organizations or other relevant departments represent Epson in dialogue with shareholders and investors. Directors, including outside directors, may also participate within reason. Feedback gained from talks with shareholders and investors is shared with the executive management team and is used to improve management quality.
Although the number of shareholders and investors we can meet in person is limited, we are actively using tools such as bulletins and websites to convey our ideas to as many people as possible. We are focusing particularly on creating a website that can deliver information to a large audience simultaneously and are constantly updating sustainability and IR information.
Analyst and investor meetings
| FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 153 | 135 | 142 | 134 |
| (SR interviews*) | 13 | 6 | 18 | 18 |
| Overseas | 82 | 104 | 127 | 121 |
| Total | 235 | 239 | 269 | 255 |
* SR interviews included in Japan (domestic) meetings.
IR Basic Cycle
* This cycle is subject to change.
Other IR-related activities
- Examine improvements to IR & sustainability tools and information
- Release shareholders' meeting materials early and enhance the content
- Provide English language information to overseas investors
- Update and enhance the sustainability website
- Ensure compliance with the Corporate Governance Code and disclose actions taken
FY2023 Engagement Activities
Initiatives to increase interest in Epson
Epson actively engages in IR activities to make shareholders and investors aware of Epson and help them understand our growth strategy and business environment.
In FY2023, in addition to 1-on-1 style meetings with sell-side analysts and institutional investors, Epson held small meetings with the CEO and CFO, as well as small meetings for the visual communications business, where progress in business structure reform has been made ahead of schedule and profitability has improved. We have also increased the number of online and hybrid formats of these meetings, so that more people can attend.
We will continue our efforts to make Epson known to more people in the future.
Discussion between institutional investors and Epson's outside directors
In February 2024, we hosted a fourth discussion between institutional investors and all six of our outside directors. In FY2021 and FY2022, the discussions were held online, but this year's event was face-to-face, which was conducive to more in-depth discussions. During the event, both the institutional investors and the outside directors engaged in a lively debate about what they see as the challenges we face in increasing corporate value. Providing opportunities like this for the outside directors and institutional investors to deepen mutual understanding will help to enhance the effectiveness of the company's board of directors. We plan to continue to hold such discussions because we believe that disclosing the nature of the discussions as fully as possible will help us to gain stakeholder trust.
Discussions aimed at increasing Epson's corporate value
Epson improved its management of issues that became apparent last fiscal year (FY2022) based on discussions and societal trends. We reported progress on these issues, including those listed below, in Epson's Integrated Report 2023 and elsewhere.
- Roadmap for embedding the corporate purpose internally
- Materiality opportunities and risks, KPIs, and value creation strategies associated with them
- Human capital and diversity in accordance with the disclosure framework
In the 2023 fiscal year, we discussed with shareholders and investors information disclosed in materials such as the Integrated Report. In addition to receiving feedback about the actions we have taken to improve management, we received valuable suggestions for further improvement in areas such as those listed below.
- Calculation and disclosure of avoided GHG emissions through products & services
- Human resource strategy linked to management and DX strategies
- Progress in driving digital transformation
- Enhanced disclosure of biodiversity and human rights initiatives, etc.
The results of discussions are reported to the Sustainability Strategy Council and board of directors and are used to further improve management. The response of capital markets to our earnings announcements are reported at corporate management meetings. In addition, the feedback and requests that we receive directly from shareholders and investors after earnings announcements are shared through weekly reports and other internal channels. This helps us to better understand investors' concerns and areas of interest. We use these insights to develop actions that will improve our business activities and disclosures.
