I would like to thank you for your continuous support.
At the beginning of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my greetings.

In 2025, the global steel and ferroalloy market remained sluggish due to persistent uncertainty caused by the economic downturn in China and the trade policies of the Trump administration in the US. Furthermore, the domestic crude steel production fell significantly below the previous year's level, affected by the easing of global steel supply and demand. Under these challenging external conditions, we implemented various proactive measures. As a result, we expect the consolidated underlying ordinary profit (excluding the impact of inventory and one-time factors) for the fiscal year ended December 2025 to remain almost at the same level as that of the previous fiscal year, at ¥5.0 billion.

This year, we entered the third year of the Ninth Medium-Term Business Plan. The effect of the safeguard measures (import restrictions) on ferroalloys imposed by the EU last November on the global market is uncertain. Meanwhile, Japan's crude steel production is expected to decline due to the continuing easing of global steel supply and demand. Furthermore, the slowdown in EV market growth is also anticipated. Consequently, the business environment has significantly changed from the conditions we assumed when formulating our Ninth Medium-Term Business Plan. However, even amid these changes, we will implement various measures to achieve our “Our Ideal State in 2030.”

Ferroalloys Business
We will strive to establish an enhanced business foundation by pursuing improved cost competitiveness at our domestic and overseas sites, while further advancing inventory reduction efforts that are progressing toward optimization.

Functional Materials Business
While anticipating shifts in demand trends in the battery and electronic components industries, as well as increasing geopolitical risks, we will work to minimize the impact on our battery business. At the same time, we will actively pursue measures such as expanding sales into growth areas, including overseas markets, to leverage our production capacity potential by enhancing the competitiveness of our one-of-a-kind products.

Incineration Ash Recycling Business
We will steadily work to expand the volume of collected incineration ash by strengthening sales activities, and we will steadily advance preparations for the start of operations of melting furnace No. 5. Furthermore, in anticipation of expansion investments for melting furnace No. 6 and beyond, we will implement various measures to achieve further growth.

Aqua Solutions Business
We will promote cost reduction activities while also working to launch businesses that contribute to solving social issues at an early stage. This includes collaboration with Galdieria Co., Ltd., addressing PFAS/PFOS regulations, and commercializing inorganic adsorbents.

Electric Power Business
We will continue stable power generation through facility maintenance in accordance with the long-term maintenance plan.

In addition to implementing various measures in each business, we will strategically pursue research and development in close collaboration with each business unit to enable the speedy market launch of new products. Furthermore, we will actively promote various measures to enhance corporate value, such as strengthening IR activities and recruitment capabilities. We will also continue to proactively promote sustainability-related measures such as GX (green transformation) and DX (digital transformation).”

Although we expect the business environment around the company to continue changing significantly and to remain challenging, we also anticipate that various opportunities will emerge. We strongly believe that we can achieve our “Our Ideal State in 2030” if we successfully tackle the challenges we are facing.

In the year ahead, the Nippon Denko Group will make every effort to fulfill our mission of contributing to the development of our society in response to the trust placed in us by our stakeholders.” We look forward to your continued understanding, cooperation, and support.

I would like to conclude my New Year's greetings by sincerely wishing you good health and happiness.