Message from the President

Paper, and beyond

The fundamental aims of the Group Medium-term Business Plan 2019: Paper, and beyond, launched in April 2017, are to further build up the five business segments of Japan Wholesaling, Non-Japan Wholesaling, Paper Manufacturing & Processing, Resources & Environment, and Real Estate Leasing, and to achieve stable earnings. The target for ordinary income in the final year of the plan, ending March 2020, is 13 billion yen.

In FY2018, the second year of the plan, our focus in each of the segments will be as follows.

In our core business of paper wholesaling in Japan, we will seek to build a more muscular business structure by making our existing network deeper and more efficient; while in markets outside of Japan, our aim is to enhance our paper distribution business deeply rooted in each country and region, as seen in our addition of Ball & Doggett Group last year in Oceania. In Paper Manufacturing & Processing, we will work to raise production efficiency and improve earning power. In the Resources & Environment segment, we are aiming to provide a stable supply of wastepaper for use as a raw material in the manufacture of paper, and for the stable operation of our renewable energy power generation business. In the Real Estate Leasing business, the OVOL Nihonbashi Building, in Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Tokyo, began offering rental units in July, as we strive for the effective use of our real estate holdings. In addition, we will continue to be actively engaged in expanding business in such information and communications technology fields as artificial intelligence (AI) and Rapid Application Development, contributing to automation and the efficiency of business operations.

We consider the mission of our Group to be carving out a better future for society and the environment, by leveraging the know-how from our paper distribution business that we have built up over a long history since our founding more than 170 years ago. Moreover, by pursuing the endless potential of paper, we are taking up the challenge of new value creation.

Toward this realization, we are uniting the Group under the OVOL brand, and placing value in integrity, fairness, and harmony as we give substance to change, challenge, and creation.

I would like to ask you all for your continued guidance and support to the Japan Pulp & Paper Group.

Akihiko Watanabe
President
July 2018