by Integrated Report 2025

■Looking back at performance in fiscal 2024

Fiscal 2024 was the first year of the Mid-Term Management Plan MEX26 (Maximum Excellence 2026), and our net sales increased 0.5% compared to the previous fiscal year to 129.8 billion yen, while our operating profit increased by 15.3% year-on-year to 9.3 billion yen thanks to growing sales of primary batteries, coated separators, and health and beauty care products, as well as the influence of foreign exchange rates. However, we recorded extraordinary losses of 2.6 billion yen in net profit (loss) attributable to owners of parent, resulting from the discontinuation of prismatic lithium-ion battery production as part of our business reform efforts, causing a 45.8% decrease year-on-year to 4.1 billion yen. The fact that we were able to achieve our operating profit target was due to the realization of an enhanced management foundation through our business portfolio reform activities to date.
　Having reviewed our calculation standards for ABC-XYZ operations (profit and loss control by business), fiscal 2024's ratio of "resource concentration businesses (A, B)" with high profitability and growth was 58%. Deviation from the plan is being monitored on a quarterly basis, and we take prompt measures whenever a problem arises. Moreover, we are implementing PIPJ (profit and loss improvement by model project) in each business division and affiliated company, and, in fiscal 2023, we transitioned to management standards based on gross profit margins rather than operating profit margins to make this easier to understand for workers; through rapid analysis, we are aiming to further improve the profitability of profitable models while reducing unprofitable models, which is contributing to the accumulation of profits. To secure an operating profit ratio of at least 10%, our goal is a gross profit margin of at least 30%, assuming a selling, general and administrative expenses ratio of 10%-20%.
　Our ROIC (return on invested capital) rose by 0.8 points compared to the previous fiscal year to 5.8%. In fiscal 2026, our target is to achieve 7.5%, which exceeds our cost of invested capital (WACC: weighted average cost of capital) of 6%.

■Progress of MEX26 financial strategy

We made capital investments of 6.4 billion yen in fiscal 2024 and expect 8.5 billion yen in fiscal 2025. Furthermore, we have decided in fiscal 2025 to acquire the primary battery business from Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. for approximately 8 billion yen, which is progressing according to plan.
　During the MEX26 period, we plan to achieve a total payout ratio of over 100% for shareholder returns, aiming to maximize our capital efficiency. In fiscal 2024, we paid 2.2 billion yen in dividends and share buybacks of 5 billion yen, which combined gave a total payout ratio of 180%.

■Progress of initiatives to enhance our management foundation

Strengthening human capital：In recent years, our personnel hiring has been especially focused on hiring experienced professionals mid-career. I believe we are fostering an excellent workplace culture in which there are no barriers between regular employees and mid-career hires and their integration is progressing. We are also proactively hiring foreign employees and female employees to ensure we have diverse personnel. When it comes to new graduate hires, we have exceeded the targets for female recruitment: 25% or higher for engineering jobs and 50% or higher for administrative and sales jobs. We will also increase our pay levels as a whole to obtain excellent personnel and increase employee motivation.
　In addition to this, we have constructed a talent management system to appropriately allocate personnel and started to create engineer skill maps that will help personnel with various technological skills to exercise their full potential as they work toward the development of new areas. Utilizing these skill maps, we will continue to optimize allocation and rotation of personnel.
　One of our KGI for 2030 is the lofty target of increasing the level of job satisfaction ratio to 90% or higher, a goal which shows the strong desires of management after discussions on the matter at Board of Directors meetings. Satisfaction levels rose in surveys in fiscal 2024, and we believe the main cause was communication and deeper mutual understanding resulting from a 100% career interview implementation ratio.
　Meanwhile, our improved target ratio of female managers is 10% in fiscal 2030. Although it has gradually increased, reaching 5.6% at the end of March 2025, further measures will be needed to reach our goal. We aim to promote diversity and inclusion and further enrich our systems, including childcare leave and shorter working hours for childcare.

Strengthening DX：We expect to complete our ongoing efforts to integrate our management foundation (core system) with a system update in one domestic Group company in fiscal 2025. We plan to enhance governance based on the integrated system.
　In fiscal 2025, we will focus our efforts on advancing the digitalization of a wide range of work and promoting the use of generative AI, as well as enhancing the IT literacy of each employee, based on the work of the IT Management Department, in order to accelerate workstyle reforms and increase labor productivity. Promoting examples of the use of generative AI in each division and developing this will enable more employees to learn about and use this technology.

Toward strengthening IP： As we strive to achieve "Creating Innovation through Unique, Original Technologies," one of our materialities, we are aiming to increase the number of patents related to next-generation development technologies by 1.5 times in five years by fiscal 2026. The number of patents submitted has increased since fiscal 2021. The number of employees in the IP Innovation Division has significantly increased, and we will evolve and deepen our initiatives as we work to build a patent group that can contribute to our medium- to long-term revenue.

Strengthening sustainability management：Interest in sustainability initiatives is growing in society and among our suppliers, so as part of MEX26, we are steadily implementing action plans for each materiality, with a view to balancing economic value and social value. For example, one of our fiscal 2024 initiatives was to first revise the "Maxell Group Human Rights Policy" in October 2024. The revised policy includes content such as respecting human rights across supply chains, based on opinions within Maxell and advice from outside experts.
　When it comes to decarbonization, we aim to reduce CO₂ emissions by at least 50% by fiscal 2030 (compared with fiscal 2013) and to achieve carbon neutrality in fiscal 2050. In March 2025, we submitted a commitment letter to receive SBT (Science Based Targets) certification. We will promote our initiatives, aiming to obtain SBT certification within two years.
　In the group governance area, we have established a system in which executive officers supervise each business division, and reforms are now moving forward in unison across the whole Group. Moreover, the Board of Directors is composed of seven members, three of whom are outside directors, a ratio of 42.9%.

Key activities in MEX26 for each management foundation

Common business foundation	Key initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of all businesses
Human capital	・ Enhancing the planned experienced recruitment process to acquire diverse personnel ・Building a talent management system to improve team capabilities through appropriate placement, including the start of creating a skills map for engineers
DX	・ Implementing final phase toward the completion of the integrated management foundation (core system) ・Promoting the digitalization of a wide range of operations, including administrative operations, sales operations and manufacturing management
Intellectual property	・Significantly strengthening the personnel that forms the foundation for intellectual property creation and utilization ・Steadily building portfolio of patents to secure profit in the medium to long term
Sustainability management	・Submitted a commitment letter for SBT (Science Based Targets) certification, aiming to achieve a carbon-free society.

(Japanese)

• IR Library
• Mid-Term Plan MEX26
• Directors