I am pleased to present the financial results for the 172nd term ended March 31, 2010. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our shareholders for their support.

The global economy entered the term under review with an uncertain outlook, and was not able to completely escape the business downturn. TOYO INK Group also faced very severe business conditions, such as weak demand in the domestic printing ink market reflecting structural changes and declining needs for electronics materials, including those related to liquid crystal displays in the first half.
Although net sales recovered from the third quarter, especially for high-function products, this did not offset the weak performance in the first half of the fiscal year.
Nonetheless, earnings increased thanks to the effect of our initiatives, which included a sustained focus on strategic reductions in fixed costs and improvements in procurement processes across the Group since the previous fiscal year. Another factor was our active investment in growth areas, led by materials for solar batteries.
In light of these outcomes, we have decided to increase our year-end dividend per share for the 172nd term by one yen, to 5.5 yen, for an annual dividend per share of 10 yen.

The 173rd term (fiscal 2010) is the final year of the Specialty Chemical Maker Challenge I (SCC-I), the medium-term management plan of TOYO INK Group. As the economy gradually recovers, TOYO INK Group will seek to continue improving its performance by pursuing globalization, developing products based on science, cultivating new areas of business, and increasing its market share through new strategies for growth. With these measures, we will aim to become a specialty chemicals manufacturer.
As we pursue this course, we hope that we can continue to count on the support and understanding of our stakeholders.

Kunio Sakuma
President, CEO

(Extracted from “To shareholders” of the business reports for the 172nd term)