Decline in demand and stagnation of business activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic

「If employees, facilities, equipment or other assets suffer damage beyond expectations due to a major natural disaster, the spread of an infectious disease or other event, the Group’s results of operations could be affected by disruptions to product supplies caused by the stagnation of business activities, substantial costs for repairing facilities and other factors.」

「However, if employees, facilities or equipment suffer damage exceeding expectations as a result of a large-scale natural disaster, infectious disease outbreak or other event, the Group's business performance could be affected by disruptions to product supply caused by stagnation of business activities and substantial costs to restore facilities and other assets.」

「During the nine months ended in the third quarter of the fiscal year under review, Japan’s economy continued to recover gradually as social and economic activity normalized, although some areas remained sluggish.」

「During the six months ended in the second quarter of the fiscal year under review, Japan’s economy continued to recover gradually, against the backdrop of progress toward the normalization of economic activity.」

「During the first quarter of the fiscal year under review, Japan’s economy continued to recover gradually, against the backdrop of COVID-19 being reclassified as a Class 5 disease under the Infectious Diseases Control Law.」

「During the period under review, Japan’s economy continued to recover gradually, helped by the easing of restrictions on activities and the effects of various policies under the “with-COVID” environment.」

「During the cumulative third-quarter period, Japan’s economy continued to recover moderately, supported in part by measures such as the easing of border controls and the nationwide travel support program as the country continued to live with COVID-19.」

「During the cumulative second-quarter period, Japan’s economy continued to show signs of recovery as the transition to a new phase of living with COVID-19 progressed.」

「During the cumulative first-quarter period, Japan’s economy continued to show signs of recovery as economic activity normalized while the number of COVID-19 cases trended downward.」

「Although the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan has begun to trend downward, it remains high, and the outlook for containment remains unclear at present.」

「During the cumulative third quarter of the fiscal year, Japan's economy remained in a severe condition as the impact of COVID-19 spread and persisted. Following the lifting of the state of emergency at the end of September, expectations grew for an economic recovery driven by a faster recovery in economic activity. However, the outlook remained uncertain amid the rapid spread of variant strains in Japan and overseas and rising energy prices.」

「Although some signs of recovery emerged in the printing industry, the operating environment remained difficult due to delays in the recovery of demand, including promotional demand, caused by the prolonged impact of COVID-19, as well as rising raw-material prices and other costs.」

「During the cumulative first-quarter period, Japan’s economy remained in a difficult situation as the renewed spread of COVID-19 led to repeated declarations of a state of emergency and intermittent application of priority preventive measures in major prefectures and urban areas, while the easing of various restrictions was repeatedly reviewed.」

「Although the spread of COVID-19 is expected to be contained by the rollout of vaccines, the outlook for its containment remains unclear at present. If the economic deterioration is prolonged beyond the group’s assumptions due to a renewed spread of infections or other factors, it may affect performance. Specifically, possible impacts include declines in products and services related to corporate promotions, demand for BPO services due to the cancellation or postponement of various examinations, demand for transport IC cards and tickets due to weak passenger demand, and demand for tube products due to the decline in cosmetics demand.」

「The printing industry also continued to face a difficult operating environment, as businesses and local governments increasingly cancelled projects or changed their policies, while demand for some products and services declined due to fluctuations in personal consumption associated with changes in lifestyles.」

「The printing industry also continued to face a difficult operating environment, as businesses and local governments increasingly cancelled or postponed projects amid the spread of COVID-19, while demand for some products and services declined due to fluctuations in personal consumption associated with changes in lifestyles.」

「Demand for toothpaste tubes remained firm, but tubes for sunscreen creams declined sharply because people refrained from going out as COVID-19 spread. Meanwhile, demand for flexible packaging for food products, such as instant noodle packaging, increased as stay-at-home demand expanded, and paperboard packaging also remained firm, mainly for food products and daily necessities.」

「In publishing and commercial printing, we worked to expand orders for digital content through proposals for digital solutions and to expand orders in intellectual development and education-related fields. Books and electronic comic distribution remained solid, but sales declined year on year because the cancellation and postponement of periodical publications occurred one after another as various events were cancelled and reporting and editorial work became difficult.」

「The spread of COVID-19 is expected to have a negative impact on the group’s performance. Specifically, demand is expected to decline for products and services related to corporate promotions, for BPO services due to the cancellation or postponement of various examinations, for transport IC cards and tickets due to weak passenger demand, and for tube products due to the decline in demand for cosmetics. However, it is currently difficult to reasonably quantify the impact.」