2024 New Year Message from Toshimitsu Taiko, President and CEO
Steadily Advancing Selection and Concentration in Our Businesses toward Return to Growth

A Happy New Year to you all.

A powerful earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in Japan on New Year’s Day. I offer my deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones, friends and homes as a result of the earthquake. My thoughts and prayers are with the people and communities affected by the disaster, and I sincerely hope that the days of recovery will come soon.

In the past year, global corporate management needed go through a number of changes due to the economic impact of the yen's depreciation, rising global interest rates, and a decline in the client companies’ capital spending appetite caused by economic downturns in Europe and China.

Since we announced the Medium-term Business Plan in May, we have been steadily moving ahead with selection and concentration of our businesses and extracting ourselves from our present deficit, with the focus on strengthening our balance sheet and ability to generate cash flow. In businesses categorized as "strengthening businesses" including Industry Business, we will further build on the strengths that we have fostered over many years. In Office Business, which is “profit maintaining business,” we will continuously boost productivity. In “non-focused businesses” and “direction-changing businesses,” we will work to accelerate the implementation of strategies and initiatives.

With sustainability at the heart of our management, we aim to enhance our corporate value by contributing to solving social issues through our business activities, based on five material issues identified in anticipation of the world’s social challenges in 2030. Not only in the response to climate change and other environmental activities, but also we will keep working on enhancement of our intangible assets in the human capital and advancement of the core technologies.

2024 will face significant changes in the global financial and business environment: the economic recovery in China and Europe; cooling global inflation and interest rates that could stimulate capital investment appetite and inflow of funds into the stock market; and potential impact on the economy and businesses depending on whether or not the leadership changes in key countries, among others. We intend to further enhance our sensitivity to business opportunities and risks in the global changes and work to improve our profitability.

Commemorating the 150th year since our founding, we positioned 2023 as “the year of new start,” and took a new step into the next 150 years with the aim of becoming a company that ceaselessly creates social value. With our strengths in imaging technology and the skilled talents who play leading roles across the world, we will meet people's needs to “see” and continue to commit ourselves strongly to realizing our unique value.

I offer my sincere wishes for your good health and happiness, and would greatly appreciate your continued support and encouragement for the Konica Minolta Group in 2024.

Toshimitsu Taiko
President and CEO
Konica Minolta, Inc.

This message was updated on January 4, 2024, with condolences to the people and areas affected by the earthquake.