■Forecast for FY2018 (Ending March 31, 2019) with Outlook

■Progress on theFY2017–2019 (for 2020) Medium-Term Management Plan
▼Financial Statements for the Interim Period Ended September 30, 2018
Profit decreased due to a slump in Japan Food Products and increased costs in International Frozen Foods, despite sales increasing in 1H.
Revised the initial FY2018 forecast. Sales and profit will increase in 2H due to countermeasures to issues, but full year business profit will stop at the level of the previous year.
▼FY2018 Countermeasures to Issues and Expected Risks
▽State of initiatives in the businesses with issues
・Canned coffee Birdy® in Thailand: New price accepted by the market. Continuing to strengthen sales. On track.
・Coffee products in Japan: Short-term measures and medium-term initiatives required for challenging competitive and market environment.
・Frozen foods in North America: Despite bottoming out after completing transfer to new factory and raising prices to counter logistics costs, production and logistics measures still expected to require time.
・Frozen foods in Japan: Sales level with the previous year, due to home-use falling back from the previous year’s growth and stiffening competition in major categories. Reconsider strategy by category.
▽Expected risks
・Africa and Turkey: Depreciation of currencies accompanying financial losses and insecurity regarding politics, decrease in consumption and changes in political policies.
▼Progress on the FY2017–2019 (for 2020) Medium-Term Management Plan
Downward revision for FY2018; even though recovery is expected in 2H, it will not make up for late start to 1H.
Further revision of projections for FY2019 after bringing forward launch of structural reform based on issues in FY2018.
▼Profit for FY2018
Profit for FY2018 revised in conjunction with downward revision
of sales and business profit.

■Growth Strategy
▼International Food Products: Seasonings
Steady growth in dry savories (umami seasonings + flavor seasonings) category, and high growth in menu-specific seasonings
▼Japan Food Products: Processed Foods
Home use: Steady growth in existing brands
▼Japan Food Products: Frozen Foods
Market environment: Market in Japan expanding
Business strategy: Working on business profit in a market with intensified competition in some categories
▼Japan Food Products: Coffee Products
Coffee market structure: Growth in away-from-home. Growth of stick-type in in-home market, including non-coffee types.
Business strategy: Focus on stick-type for home-use market. Differentiate by improving quality. Create new demand by creating a variety of products and a new ad strategy. Aim to expand outlets over the medium term in restaurant and industrial-use markets.
▼International Food Products: Frozen Foods (North America)
Double-digit growth in sales, primarily for Asian food products. Have been working on improving productivity to increase profitability and are starting to get results (Hayward factory). There are issues in increasing efficiency of logistics.
▼Healthcare: Pharmaceutical custom manufacturing
Build global service-providing scheme as “AJIBIO・PHARMASERVICES” Integrated U.S. and EU CDMO*1businesses.
Scheduled to integrate Japan CDMO business including Gene Design, Inc. in FY2019.
Aim for continuous high growth with broad range of service offerings, mainly highly potent and high value-added products including new fields from small molecules to large molecules, HAPI, Oligonucleotides, ADC, and so on.
▼Non-Financial Initiatives
Further popularize Umami and dispel negative image of MSG WORLDUMAMIFORUM: held in New York, U.S., September 20–21, 2018

■FY2018 Financial Strategy
Based on the policies of the FY2017–2019 MTP, generate cash flow, invest for growth and provide stable shareholder returns to realize business strategy.
■Toward the Next Medium-Term Management Plan
▼The company to be realized through the FY2020–2022 MTP
Global Top 10 Class Food Company with Sustainable Growth
▼Current Issues
Slowing growth of the consumer foods business
Grow the healthcare business in leading edge areas such as pharmaceutical custom manufacturing and cell culture medium
Efficiency of the Group corporate sector
▼Framework of Change—Start This Fiscal Year
Quickly bring about a management structure that realizes a business profit margin of 10% and ROE of 10%, even with sales CAGR of 5%