Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
January 1, 2004

I wish you all a happy New Year.
The last year had been the most dramatically and speedily changing year in our whole corporate history. The year started out with an announcement of Konica and Minolta management integration, management integration in August, and reorganization of our operations to actually start Konica Minolta Group in October. I strongly feel that without support of our stakeholders, we could not have realized such a speedy integration. At the same time, I am certain that it is a result of all of our employees who thought of shareholders and customers first while promoting integration procedure swiftly.

In terms of our financial results, our first semi-annual results ended up with the record-making operating income, recurring income, and net income. I believe that it is a result of all of our efforts to pursue our goal in the midst of a various management integration procedure. However, the industries surrounding us are ceaselessly changing and our competitors are also aggressively challenging for their survival. Moreover, unforeseeable economy continues to negatively affect our market. Even in such harsh operating environment, Konica Minolta Group must quickly accomplish integration effect and establish firm management structure. We must reply to our stakeholders' expectations.
Now that we have just completed reorganization, we are still not in a position to indicate integration effect yet. The real integration effect will be realized when we attain our target sales of 1.3 trillion yen and 150 billion yen in operating profit. To do so, we must innovate ourselves to be global leading players, and to further pursue speedy management.

The most important factor to accomplish our goal is 'our employees.' Employees are our wealth and our strength. At Konica Minolta Group, we established 'Employee Vision' upon the management integration, which reads "Konica Minolta values people who are committed to share corporate visions of becoming a global company with market leadership in the imaging business domain, and who always strive for continuous innovation with the customer oriented approach, not adhering to successful achievements of the past nor established customs. "This is our employees' guideline for their daily activities.
In the fast changing world, the past successful achievements and customs sometimes become obstacles. In order to become a global corporation that leads the market, we esteem 'employees who always pursue innovation. "

Our track & field club team has been marking wonderful records in the past both as a team and individual members. Since newly renamed as Konica Minolta Track and Field Club upon integration, the team is evermore training toward achieving higher goals. In the severe sporting world where the results come out distinctly, athletes continue to aim for higher targets and compete with their rivals.
Continued renovation of each athlete would stimulate the team as a whole, thus succeed in unifying members to form splendid teamwork. This is just like the Konica Minolta Group structure having a holding company whose role is to act as a director or coach and group business companies as individual players having high business targets.

The year 2004 is also a starting year for making great progress for us. Konica Minolta is a company featuring various technologies in the field of imaging. We wish to further create a new inspiring world through imaging. One example is to start research work at our newly established 'Imaging and Culture Research Institute.' It is expected to survey changing life and business styles in the dramatically changing 21^st century by digitization and networking.

We wish you everlasting prosperity and good health; at the same time, we look forward to your further support and understanding in the new year.