In terms of ÆON MALL’s own situation with respect to the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011, we experienced no physical injuries from the disaster. As for the malls themselves, several in the Tohoku and Kanto (northeastern and eastern Japan) regions experienced light damage to buildings and equipment as a direct result of the earthquake. However none saw any water damage due to the tsunami, with most buildings and parking structures left largely unaffected.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, we set up a task force to confirm the safety of our customers, and all employees of both ÆON MALL and our tenants, in addition to assessing the damage to our shopping malls. Seven of our malls suffered partial damage and had to close temporarily. Stores at these malls managed directly by ÆON (GMS) soon reopened however, and began supplying food and other daily essentials. Specialty stores too were swift to reopen their doors with stores at six of the damaged malls open again before the end of March. The remaining mall, ÆON MALL Natori AIRY (Miyagi Prefecture), having sustained substantial damage, was not due to reopen until September. The strength of local demand however, was such that we decided to restart operations of specialty stores on the first two floors on April 24. Stores on the third floor followed suit on June 9, with the whole shopping mall open for business by the end of that same month.

Regarding conditions in the fiscal year ending February 20, 2012, we were successful in completing all mall openings and renovations of existing malls scheduled for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 as planned. These new shopping malls were ÆON MALL Kofu Showa (Yamanashi Prefecture), opened on March 17, and ÆON MALL Omuta (Fukuoka Prefecture), opened on March 18. Sales from specialty stores, together with visitor numbers, at the Company’s 51 existing malls (as of February 20, 2010) in March and April were down on figures for the same period last year. The main factors behind this slump were the steep drop in consumption in the wake of the disaster as well as the temporary closures of certain shopping malls associated with the earthquake. Figures from May onwards on the other hand, indicated a recovery with both sales and visitor numbers rising year on year.

In terms of financial results in fiscal 2011, we are projecting operating revenue of ¥152.0 billion (up 4.7% year on year), operating income of between ¥41.5 billion (up 4.7%) and ¥43.0 billion (up 8.4%), and net income of between ¥21.5 billion (down 3.9%) and ¥22.4 billion (up 0.1%). The projection for operating revenue takes the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake into account. The lower and upper limit projections for operating income on the other hand, represent figures calculated before and after the earthquake respectively. Having said that, we are making efforts to realize the pre-earthquake target of ¥43.0 billion by reducing costs through structural reform.

In accordance with Article 27 of the Electricity Business Act, shopping malls within the service areas of Tohoku Electric Power and Tokyo Electric Power are legally obliged to reduce their power consumption by 15% during the peak summer months. According to demonstration experiments carried out at affected shopping malls from May, we have the potential to reduce consumption by more than the stipulated 15%. The same was found to be true for all shopping malls, including those in Kansai region which are currently facing similar restrictions.

Now a word on the payment of cash dividends to our shareholders. Based on our policy of stable and consistent dividends, we propose a total annual dividend of ¥20 per share, consisting of interim and year-end dividends of ¥10 per share respectively for fiscal 2011, aiming for the same annual payout ratio as fiscal 2010 of 15%.