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Q. Where can I find information about the history of ESPEC?A. Please see ESPEC's History |
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Q. What is the derivation of the name?A. Based on the results of a survey of people in several dozen countries, a combination of alphabetic characters were selected to create an image of internationality, intelligence and progressiveness. |
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Q. What is your company code?A. 6859 |
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Q. On which exchanges is ESPEC listed?A. ESPEC is listed on the first sections of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange |
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Q. Who is your transfer agent?A. Please contact the Stock Transfer Agency Division of Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. |
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Q. Please describe your management plan.A. Please refer to the ”Management Policy”. |
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Q. What is your policy on returning benefits to shareholders?A. Our Group considers it one of the essential management priorities to pass along benefits to shareholders and our basic policy is to increase shareholders' profits to enhance the permanent value of the business. We determine the amount of dividend using the payout ratio on a consolidated basis in the respective financial years as a rough indication. |
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Q. When do you release your results and hold general meetings?A. Please refer to the ”IR calendar“. |
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Q. Where can I find historical performance data?A. Please see the ”Financial Highlight“. |
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Q. What are your performance forecasts for the current year?A.The latest information releases can be found under ”Investor Information“. Changes to forecasts are published from time to time. |
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Q. There appears to be an imbalance between accounts receivable and accounts payable.A. Our sales tend to be concentrated at the end of each business year because of the way in which our customers manage their budgets. That is the main reason for the increase in accounts receivable toward the end of each business year. The recovery of payments for display device systems can take a particularly long time and often spans several months. |
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Q. Do orders and sales tend to be concentrated in either the first or second half of the year, or in particular quarters?A. There is a concentration in the second half. On a quarterly basis, there tends to be a weighting toward the second and fourth quarters, especially the fourth quarter. |
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Q. To what extent is your performance affected by rises or falls in the value of the yen?A. A high yen has a negative impact. However, the effect is minimal, since we trade mainly in yen. |
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Q. How are your sales spread among the various markets?A. The market for electronic devices and equipment for almost 40%, the flat panel device market for almost 20%, the automotive market for about 10% and the semiconductor market accounts for about 5%. Almost 25% of sales are derived from the markets for other items. |
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Q. What are your shares of the markets in which you are involved?A. In the area of environmental testing equipment, we have a domestic market share of around 60%. |
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Q. What barriers are there to market entry by new competitors?A. We are involved in industries based on small-volume production of large product ranges. We offer total solutions, including after-sales service. We also have a sales network made up of highly successful agents that we have been using since the time when we were a manufacturer of scientific instruments. Competitors may be able to manufacture similar products, but we have a huge advantage in terms of our overall position, and it would not be easy for new competitors to move into our markets. |
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Q. What percentage of your production is outsourced?A. We now outsource about 30% of our production. We aim to move toward a more appropriate level in the future. |
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Q. What kind of business is the Equipment Business?A. Manufacturing and sales of environmental test chamber, FPD equipment and Semiconductor equipment. |
Q. What percentages of your environmental test chamber is used for R&D, production and other applications?A. Around 10% of our products are used in R&D, around 60% for reliability and quality management, and about 30% for inspection. |
Q. What is the service life of your environmental testing equipment.A. This varies according to conditions of use. Generally 8-10 years. |
Q. Are your FPD equipment used for totally different purposes from your environmental testing equipment?A. The technology used in our FPD equipment has been accumulated through our long involvement in the environmental testing equipment. However, the uses for these products are totally different. Our environmental testing equipment is used for R&D, reliability and quality management, and inspection, while our FPD equipment are used almost exclusively in production. |
Q. What percentages of your FPD equipment are used for R&D and production?A. Our FPD equipment are used almost entirely in production operations. |
Q. What is the lead time for manufacturing FPD equipment?A. The lead time for FPD equipment ranges from six months to one year or so, depending on customers' delivery time requirements. |
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Q. What percentages of your instrumentation systems are used for R&D, production and other applications?A. Around 70% of our instrumentation systems are used in R&D. The remainder is used mainly in reliability and quality management. |
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Q. What percentages of burn-in systems are used in R&D and production?A. Almost production. |
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Q. What kind of business is the Service Business?A. Providing after service, engineering, commissioned test and facility rental. |
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Q. What kind of business is the Other Business?A. Environmental protection activities including growth of forest, creation of waterfront, urban greening and plant factory. |
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