Our company is working to enhance corporate value by positioning consolidated operating profit and ROE (return on equity) as KPIs (key performance indicators) in the 'Medium-Term Management Plan 2025.' The Board of Directors regularly verifies shareholders' cost of capital, WACC (weighted average cost of capital), stock price, PBR (price-to-book ratio), and other indicators, analyzes the gaps between our self-assessment and evaluations by securities analysts and institutional investors, as well as actual market valuations, and examines measures to close such gaps. We practice management that is conscious of cost of capital and stock prices by improving medium to long-term capital efficiency through profit growth and appropriate shareholder returns. Recently, we estimate our company's shareholders' cost of capital, which reflects investors' expected rate of return, to be approximately 6.0%-6.5%. During fiscal years 2020-2022, profit levels were extremely high due to increased sales of COVID-19 test-related reagents during the pandemic, and ROE significantly exceeded the cost of shareholders' capital. However, in fiscal year 2023, due to the rebound from the pandemic and economic conditions, the global life science research market declined, and further market deterioration continued in fiscal year 2024, resulting in lower profit levels and an ROE of 0.9% for fiscal year 2024. Based on the fiscal year 2025 earnings forecast, the estimated ROE is 1.1%, representing a slight increase compared to fiscal year 2024. Regarding our company's stock price and PBR, we recognize a decline due to lower profit levels and the expected shortfall in achieving the quantitative targets of the Medium-Term Management Plan 2025. Our company positions CDMO business (biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing services), including regenerative medicine products, as a future growth business, but this business requires upfront investments in equipment and personnel. As the CDMO business expands in the future, we aim to improve consolidated operating profit and ROE, and through the implementation of appropriate capital policies, enhance stock price, PBR, and corporate value. Our company website: Realizing Management Conscious of Capital Cost and Stock Price https://www.takara-bio.co.jp/ja/ir/management/capitalcost.html (Japanese) https://www.takara-bio.com/en/ir/management/capitalcost.html (English)