Toagosei Co., Ltd. 3 changes in the business environment, we must devise action plans that will allow individual staff to respond swiftly to changes as they arise, and to perform their duties flexibly as dictated by the situation. In this way, we will work to maintain profitability and achieve growth. One specific plan we have scheduled for implementation is the reorganization of our research and development structure. Toagosei’s Nagoya Research Institute will be reorganized as a common research facility for the entire Toagosei Group. The Institute’s product evaluation function will be reinforced, and investment will be made in new equipment for chemical property analysis. We are confident that these steps will significantly accelerate the new product development process. In addition, the subsidiary Nihon Junyaku has become a dedicated manufacturer, with R&D and marketing functions being taken over by Toagosei for acrylic polymer chemicals. Subsidiary Tsurumi Soda has taken over R&D and marketing for high-purity inorganic chemicals from Toagosei. In this way, we will redesign the division of labor among the corporate members of the Toagosei Group to realize more efficient operations. We will continue our efforts to fulfill the corporate social responsibility of the Toagosei Group, keeping in mind our responsibility to our stakeholders, by ensuring continued compliance with the law and corporate ethics, as well as effective internal controls, active social contributions, and adequate environmental preservation and safety activities. We thank you for your understanding, and look forward to your continuing support. importance on the need to ensure a sufficient amount of retained earnings to maintain a sound financial position. We must secure sufficient funds to finance research and development activities to prepare for an anticipated intensification of competition, and for capital investment. Consequently, we are planning to make a termend dividend payment of 4 yen. We have already paid an interim dividend of 4 yen, bringing the total dividend payment for the full term to 8 yen per share. For the current term, ending December 31, 2009, we are planning an interim dividend payment of 3 yen, and a term-end dividend payment of 3 yen, for an annual dividend payment of 6 yen per share. Outlook for Fiscal 2009 The Toagosei Group expects the business environment to remain difficult in the foreseeable future, amid concerns of demand remaining stagnant indefinitely as a result of the global economic recession. The lack of clarity in the outlook for prices of crude oil, naphtha and other raw materials poses a particular challenge for the Group. We expect the economic recovery in Japan to take some time, and believe that a year-on-year decline in earnings is unavoidable. The Toagosei Group is currently implementing its “All TOA 2010” medium-term plan, ending in December 2010, and fiscal 2009 is the second year of this three-year plan. Under “All TOA 2010,” we are accelerating the switchover to high value-added products and reinforcing our existing core businesses, while working to create new businesses. In response to recent