Shareholders & Investors

Discussions with Shareholders and 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

  FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022
Japan 147 153 135 142
(SR interviews*) 11 13 6 18
Overseas 104 82 104 127
Total 251 235 239 269

* SR interviews included in Japan (domestic) meetings.

Annual IR Cycle

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

FY2022 Engagement Activities

ESG Meetings in Response to a Rising Tide of ESG Investment

We hold meetings and other events to communicate Epson's growth potential to as many shareholders and investors as possible. In the 2022 fiscal year, we held meetings to explain our strategy in the office printing business, which is positioned as a growth area in Epson 25 Renewed. We also held meetings about the microdevices business, which has been drawing increased interest of late. ESG meetings were held to explain Epson's purpose and sustainability management. In addition, with safeguards in place to prevent the spread of disease, we resumed hosting events that give visitors a firsthand feel for Epson's transformation. These events include things such as tours of our commercial and industrial printing facilities.

Dialog between Institutional Investors and Outside Directors

Institutional investors and our five outside directors engaged in an online discussion in March 2023. Similar sessions were held in the 2018 and 2021 fiscal years.

The outside directors answered a variety of primarily ESG-related questions from the institutional investors. Events like this build mutual understanding and help to improve the effectiveness of the Board of Directors. The contents of the discussions will be released mostly unedited because we believe doing so will build stakeholder trust. Details about the discussion can be found on pages 73-76 in the Integrated Report.

Discussions aimed at increasing Epson's corporate value long-term

Epson improved its management of issues that became apparent through discussions in the previous fiscal year (FY2021) and from societal trends. Progress on issues such as those below is disclosed in Epson's Integrated Report 2022 and elsewhere.

  • Establishment of a Corporate Purpose
  • Human resources strategy and intellectual property strategy
  • Setting of KPI for key sustainability topics and how KPI are tied to officer compensation
  • Performance in FY2021 with respect to risks and opportunities reported in our TCFD

In the 2022 fiscal year, we discussed with shareholders and investors information disclosed in materials such as the Integrated Report. In addition to providing feedback about the actions we have taken to improve management, the discussions provided us with valuable suggestions for further improvement in areas such as those listed below.

  • Instilling the Purpose in the minds of employees as the next step
  • Visualizing the contribution of low environmental impact products to business
  • Further advancing human capital management

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 at strategy briefings and 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.

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