CSR

[ISO 26000 Core Subject] Organizational Governance

In fiscal 2011, we were placed in a very severe business environment. Specifically, the first half included the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, while in the second half, we were badly affected by the flooding in Thailand. Additionally, during this time, the yen remained very strong in the foreign exchange market.

Under these circumstances, the Fujikura Group's net sales came to 509 billion yen, down 2.4% year on year. Specifically, sales decreased in the telecommunications business but increased in the automotive components business and the metal cable and systems business. In the electronics business, we recorded a substantial decrease in sales due to the Thailand flooding in October 2011, which caused the suspension of our flexible printed circuit (FPC) and other component manufacturing bases in the country.

Regarding profit, in the telecommunications business, operating income decreased by 50% year on year due to increased competition in Japan and decreases in sales from exports caused by the strong yen, while in the metal cable and systems business, operating income increased as a result of cost reductions and other efforts. In the automotive components business, operating income slightly decreased year on year due to fragmentation of the supply chain caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in the first half of the term. In the electronics business, we faced severe difficulties in the second half of the term due to the flooding in Thailand, which caused the suspension of our electronic component manufacturing bases in the country. In total, our consolidated operating income decreased by 20.8% year on year to 13.3 billion yen, while ordinary income also decreased by 44.2% to 9.1 billion yen. Net loss came to 6.2 billion yen as a result of posting a special loss of 23.4 billion yen caused by the flooding in Thailand and a special profit of 15.4 billion yen (received as insurance money for the damage in Thailand).

The Fujikura Group (Fujikura and its consolidated subsidiaries) made a capital investment of 33.4 billion yen (on a basis of tangible and intangible fixed assets received) under its basic strategies of "concentrating managerial resources in growth fields" and "enhancing craftsmanship in monozukuri (manufacturing)."

A range of technologies have been developed for the creation of a low-carbon society. Fujikura is also developing a wide spectrum of environmental energy technologies for both materials and products, to deliver even more environment-friendly products toward the protection of the global environment.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) represent environment-friendly next-generation solar cells. They can be manufactured through a simple printing process without using hazardous materials or consuming much energy. The DSCs developed by Fujikura have the world's highest power generation performance. Unlike conventional solar cells, these cells produce electricity by making use of a phenomenon where the dye molecules on the oxidized titanium surface absorb light and emit electrons. Thanks to this power generation mechanism, the cells can generate power efficiently even in dark locations. DSCs are attracting much attention as optimal power generation devices developed in the topical field of energy harvesting (transformation of energy that has not effectively been utilized into electricity).