TARO HASHIMOTO

Hashimoto graduated in 1982 from the Faculty of Economics at Keio University. After a stint at Nomura Securities, he became a corporate investment chief at Softbank’s Financial Accounting Department in 1996. In 1997, he became a director of JSkyB, and executive managing director (CFO) of Japan Digital Broadcast Services (now JSAT K.K.) in 1998. From March of 2000 to present, he has served as President of Broadmedia.

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Broadmedia, the name of our company, collectively refers to our business operations. It is an abbreviation of broadband media, and is intended to express the meaning of broader media, the expansion of the conventional media framework.

Broadmedia Group operates in three domains. One is "Content" in a broad sense, including video distribution, broadcasting, studio and education, among other forms of content. The second domain is "Technology" in a broad sense, which involves distribution (CDN service), security measures and other technologies, as well as “Promotion” of these two core domains constitutes the third domain.

The two core domains have a wide variety of businesses. After undergoing various transitions, including in the area of "promotion," we have been organized since April 2023 to promote our business in six segments: "Education," "Media Content," "Studio ＆ Production," "Broadcast," "Technology," and "Others."

Our immediate goal, starting in FY2024, is to "grow through sustainable and ethical businesses" while "aiming for further expansion and high profitability (consolidated operating margin of 10% and ROE of 30%)". To achieve this goal, in addition to further growth in "Education" and "Technology," which drive our business performance, we will create highly profitable new businesses, including div Inc. and divx Inc., which we have welcomed into the Group, to promote our "original combined education business.” In parallel, several existing businesses will be examined for strategic options.

As we work to achieve our new goals, the Group's business promotion structure will continue to evolve.

We have recovered our performance after a difficult period and resumed dividend payments at the end of FY2021 for the first time in 9 fiscal years, and have continued to aggressively return profits to shareholders since then. From FY2024 onward, our shareholder return policy is to target a consolidated payout ratio of 30% to 50%, with a total return ratio of 50% for the foreseeable future.

The purpose of a business is not only to make a profit, but also to be useful and serve people and society. Difficulties are inevitable in business. We aim to grow with sustainable and ethical businesses by overcoming difficulties.

July 2024