Message to Shareholders and Investors

I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for our shareholders and investors for the continued support that they have shown us over the years.

During the 44th fiscal year, the Japanese economy showed signs of a recovery against the backdrop of the normalization of economic activity and consumption following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a rapid recovery of inbound demand. In response to this, the employment situation in Japan has also changed, with recruiting needs expanding in a wide variety of business sectors, including the food and beverage, distribution and service sectors.

In this business environment, we strengthened our sales efforts to resolve the recruiting and sales promotion issues of our client companies and also strived to develop new markets by expanding our bases in the Overseas Business. In addition, in the Recruiting Business, we worked to build a business model and sales structure to work closely with client companies to help them succeed in their recruiting activities amid the increase in the diversity and complexity of recruiting methods. This included Indeed PLUS, which we began handling in 2024. At the same time, in terms of investment in human resources, we focused on strengthening the Group's foundations from both the business and human resources perspectives by improving employee compensation and initiating other measures.

As a result, in the 44th fiscal year, the Company's business performance grew for the third consecutive year in terms of both net sales and profit, which were both record highs. Furthermore, to return more profit to shareholders, we increased the dividend payout ratio. As a result, the annual dividend came to 94 yen per share, an increase of 24 yen from the previous fiscal year. This is a record high.

In the 45th fiscal year, in addition to the increase in recruiting needs due to the "2024 problem" faced in the transportation and construction industries due to the upper limit on overtime hours, it is expected that corporate recruiting needs will increase in all business sectors, given the strengthening of mid-career recruiting to improve the diversity of companies workforces and further digital transformation and the globalization of businesses.

In this environment, the Group will continue to proactively invest in business and recruit talent with an eye toward future growth. The acquisition of the career+ nursing business (new graduate recruitment service) in May 2024 was a part of these efforts. In the Human Resources Services Business, we are also planning to use television commercials as a new promotion method for attracting registrants. At the same time, over the next two to three years, we will also aim to complete the construction of a business model and sales structure in the Recruiting Business in which we work closely with clients, an initiative that was not completed during the 44th fiscal year.

Moreover, to strengthen our management structure to enhance corporate governance, we added one new Director who is also an Audit and Supervisory Committee Member on June 21, 2024. We aim to further enhance our corporate value by simultaneously pursuing these business investments and strengthening our management structure.

As we pursue these initiatives, I ask for the continued support and encouragement of all of our shareholders and investors.