UACJ : 2023 New Year’s Message

January 5, 2023

On behalf of UACJ's management, it is my pleasure to wish each member and stakeholder of the UACJ Group a safe and happy New Year. I would also like to express my appreciation to those employees who went to work during the holidays to handle various projects now underway, such as installing and starting up manufacturing equipment.

Now that the New Year has arrived, I would like to look back on the UACJ Group's major accomplishments in 2022. The Group had to deal with various challenges during the year, including steeply rising energy prices and declining orders from automakers that cut production due to semiconductor shortages. At the same time, we made progress in the second year of our current mid-term management plan, bringing us closer to the success of UACJ Vision 2030, while working to accomplish the following five major policies.

1. Ensure safe operations and full compliance

   While the pandemic continued throughout 2022, many employees took steps to prevent the spread of infections and helped implement various measures for minimizing the impact of COVID-19 on our customers.

2. Complete structural reforms

   We saw steady results from the structural reforms we initiated in 2019. The Group also introduced systems for reflecting rising market prices of energy and raw material in product prices.

3. Work towards the success of UACJ Vision 2030

   One of the goals of UACJ Vision 2030 is to provide products that contribute to societal development by capturing demand in growing industries and markets. Toward this end, UACJ agreed to the merger of its consolidated subsidiary UACJ Foil Corporation with Toyo Aluminum K.K. We believe this will establish a firmer foundation for meeting growing demand for aluminum foil, thereby enabling the Group and the aluminum foil industry to grow together. We also developed numerous new products and services in an effort to address issues facing society today. For example, the Flat Rolled Products Business is in the process of setting up a network of organizations in Japan to store and share recyclable aluminum bottles of water for times of natural disasters such as typhoons and torrential rains, which have been growing more severe due to climate change. Furthermore, the Extrusion Business developed aluminum flood barriers for preventing floodwater from entering buildings, the Foil Business created a service for electronically notifying users when a package is opened using an advanced packaging foil, and the Precision-machined Components Business produced personal work booths for offices that can be folded up for compact storage.

4. Promote sustainability

   As part of our efforts to promote sustainability, we formulated the UACJ Group Human Rights Policy in March 2022. Then in June, we announced our target of achieving net zero Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 2050. As a step in this direction, UACJ along with a can manufacturer and a beverage producer succeeded in manufacturing the world's first beverage cans made completely from recycled aluminum. Moreover, recycled aluminum automotive parts we jointly developed with an automaker were recognized with an award from the Japan Institute of Light Metals. These successes allowed us to promote the potential for recycling aluminum more broadly across society.

5. Expand training programs and improve the Group's management systems

   In 2022, skill development programs and measures aimed at energizing workplaces and improving their management were expanded to a greater number of workplaces across the Group. In Japan, UACJ was certified by the government as an organization with outstanding health and productivity management last year. This recognized the importance we place on helping employees manage and improve their health, which we regard as essential for the Group's sustainable growth, and the results of our increasingly proactive efforts toward this end.

The Group was able to accomplish so many objectives last year because its employees tackled challenging issues with a forward-looking mindset, despite the outlook remaining unclear due to the prolonged pandemic and changes in the international situation. Once again, I would like to thank all of them for their hard work.

Turning to our objectives in 2023, first and foremost, ensuring safety and compliance will remain as fundamental principles of the Group's management. Other important policies are as follows.

1. Achieve the targets and goals of the current mid-term management plan

   Fiscal 2023 is the final fiscal year of our current mid-term management plan, launched in 2021 as the third such plan since UACJ's establishment. We will strive to achieve the plan's financial targets and capture as much market demand as possible while paying close attention to generating cash flow and improving capital efficiency. Various initiatives will also be implemented to achieve the plan's non-financial goals.

2. Work towards the success of UACJ Vision 2030 and formulate a new mid-term management plan

   To realize UACJ Vision 2030, we will continue exploring solutions in three sectors: mobility, lifestyles and healthcare, and environment and energy. We are also proceeding to formulate our fourth mid-term management plan by April of this year when fiscal 2024 commences.

3. Contribute to a better world and healthier environment

   We are highly committed to having the UACJ Group play a central role in developing an aluminum circular economy, and will implement a number of initiatives toward that end.

4. Broaden training, improve management, and promote diversity and employee engagement

   While continuing to expand training programs and improve our management systems, we intend to promote respect for human rights and diversity in line with the Group's values, and improve employee engagement by fostering dynamic workplaces that support good mental and physical health.

We are in reach of our goals thanks to the collective efforts of all of the Group's employees to carry out structural reforms. Indicating this progress so far, the Company posted record-high net sales of ¥782.9 billion and operating income of ¥59.5 billion in fiscal 2021, ended March 31, 2022. The Group was able to achieve these results and boost its presence more than ever before because it has earned the trust of stakeholders worldwide. Driven by the Group's united team spirit, we hope to lay a solid foundation for even more success in the future.

UACJ will celebrate its tenth anniversary in October of this year. It has also been 125 years since one of the Company's founders began manufacturing flat-rolled aluminum. Our predecessors were able to overcome many difficulties over this long history. As we celebrate this year, I would like us to reflect on the ideas and principles that our predecessors valued, and consider how the UACJ Group can continue providing essential products in the decades to come.

Once again, I would like to wish a happy New Year to all members of the UACJ Group and its stakeholders around the world. I sincerely hope that you and your families stay safe and healthy in 2023.

Miyuki Ishihara
Representative Director & President
UACJ Corporation