Now ideas for wellness

About Meiji

At a Glance

At a Glance

Get to know Meiji at a glance – from our core business to our most important numbers.

Food

Our Nutrition Initiatives

Our Nutrition Initiatives

Our goal is to improve the lives of people of all ages around the world through nutrition, from infants to older adults, and we are dedicated to achieving this goal.

Pharmaceuticals

R&D

Medical needs are always diversifying – here's how Meiji is responding.

2023 Medium-term Business Plan

Concept

Promote the Meiji ROESG®*Management effectively

Realize both profit growth and sustainability activities

*ROESG is a registered trademark for a management indicator developed by Kunio Ito, a professor at
Hitotsubashi University.

Key Issues

  1. Business strategy
    Food segment
    1) Recover from the slump in our core business
    2) Accelerate growth in our business overseas
    Pharmaceutical segment
    1) Integrate business operations of Meiji Seika Pharma and KM biologics (Strengthen vaccine business)
    2) Expand CMO/CDMO business
    Group-wide Venture into new domains
  2. Improve business management using ROIC offectively
  3. Investing to grow business while constructing strong financial base
  4. Promote the Meiji Group Sustainability 2026 Vision

Promote the Meiji ROESG® Management Effectively

Offering Health Value: our founding commitment
We reaffirm this commitment and will be a sustainable corporate group that shares health value with people and societies around the world in order to achieve growth

figure of the Meiji ROESG® Management
  • Set up our unique indicators as KPI. Indicators include sustainability goals unique to the Meiji Group in addition to ROE and ESG
  • Link with officer compensation to ensure efficacy

Business Strategy: Food segment

Recover from the slump in our core business

Yogurt and functional yogurt

  • Improve functionalities and evidences of existing products
  • Launch new products that have new added-value
  • Venture into new domains and new market

Nutrition

  • Sports nutrition: Increase sales of SAVAS products
  • Nutrition for infants & children, enteral formula: Increase share by enhancing product values

Chocolate

  • Appling the value of cocoa, develop innovative products in new domains and at various serving temperature
  • Promote procuring sustainable cocoa and adding value to products
  • Optimize production system

Expand overseas Business

China

  • Increase production capacity significantly
    Production capacity at FYE 3/2024 (Based on monetary amount, compare to FYE 3/2021)
    Milk and yogurt
    About 4 times (Expand capacity in Suzhou,1 New factory in Tianjin,2 Guangzhou3)
    Confectionary
    About 2 times (New factory in Guangzhou3)
    Ice cream
    About 2 times (New factory in Shanghai3)
  • Increase sales of functional yogurt and SAVAS

1: FYE 3/2022 2: FYE 3/2023 3: FYE 3/2024

Other area

  • Strengthen business partnership with Danone regarding the infant formula tablets

Business Strategy: Pharmaceutical segment

Integrate business operations of Meiji Seika Pharma and KM Biologics (Expand vaccine business)

Improve research and development collaboration
Enhance supply management integrating production and sales
Progress product development

  • Inactivated vaccine for COVID-19
  • DTaP-IPV/Hib vaccine
  • Dengue vaccine

Expand overseas business
Establish new modality for drug discovery/development by promoting open innovation

Expand CMO/CDMO

Overseas

  • Expand businesses with existing customers and capture new customers
  • Strengthen R&D capabilities to secure a competitive advantage
  • Expand production capacity (capital expenditure)
  • Respond to increasing demand for access to medicines

Japan

  • Use Medreich's large-scale production capacity for Japanese market

*The revenue recognition standard is not applied to the graph of sales in the business strategy.

Business Strategy: Venture into New Domains

Contribute in immunity domain

Offer new value that contributes to extending healthy lifespans

  • Commercialize anti-ageing ingredients
  • Create immunity-boosting substances

Sales (for illustration purposes)

  • New domains
  • Existing business
figure of sales

R&D Structure (collaborations: industry/ government/ academia)

figure of R&D structure

Strengthen external partnerships to create new businesses (promote open innovation)

  1. Internal development program
    • Establish innovation business strategy department
    • Solicit internally to launch new businesses driven by young employees
    • Partner with external contractors (major corporations, ventures, academia, consultants, etc.)
  2. External development program (Meiji accelerator program)

    Solicit to launch new businesses driven by internal young employees with external ventures/startups

  3. Search startups/ventures
    1. LP*investment in New Protein Fund in Big Idea Ventures
      Evaluate businesses related to next-generation protein technology such as plant-based protein
    2. TECH PLANTER by Leave a Nest
      Participate in food tech and biotech domains

*LP: Limited Partner

Improve Business Management: Using ROIC effectively

Improve the Group capital productivity

  • Review noncore businesses, redistribute management resources to growth businesses
  • Improve capital productivity by business
Efforts to strengthen business management structure
1. Strict ROIC management
by business
  • Strengthen management and evaluations for B/S and ROIC by Board of Directors
2. Manage business focusing on capital costs
  • Optimize invested capital using ROIC key components
  • Improve capital productivity
3. Clarify structure for authority and responsibility
  • Designate portfolio strategy manager
4. Investment evaluations
  • Use ROIC to evaluate capital expenditures, M&A, and R&D investments

Defined business categories for ROIC evaluation

Food segment: 10 business management units
Pharmaceutical segment: 8 business management units

table of business categories for ROIC evaluation

Set WACC 5%, Manage business focusing on capital costs

table of ROIC

Financial strategy: Capital rationing

  • Continue investments to grow business (growth investment) within cash flows from operating activities
  • table of cash flows
  • Effective M&A as part of growth strategy
  • Reduce cross-shareholding by 30% (based on book value)
  • Increase dividend continually, Gradually increase dividend payout ratio to 40%
  • Examine share repurchase considering optimal capital structure
table of cash flows

Sustainability: Materiality

Healthier Lives

Contribute to healthy diets through our business activities

  • Develop health-conscious products and nutritional products with added value
  • Promote and spread healthy diets and food culture
photo of health-conscious products and nutritional products

Action against emerging/re-emerging infectious diseases

  • Develop and supply vaccine for COVID-19
  • Develop vaccine for Dengue fever

Caring for the Earth

Action against climate change

  • Promote using renewable energy
    (install solar power generator, purchase renewable energy)
  • Get SBT (Science Based Targets) certification in FYE 3/2022
  • Introduce internal carbon pricing in FYE 3/2022
  • Abolish totally the use of specific fluorocarbons

Promote plastic resource circulation

  • Reduce (use lighter and thinner plastic container packaging and switch to paper)
  • Use bioplastics and recycled plastic

Secure Water Resources

  • Reduce water use, protect and conserve water resources
  • Respond to water risks

Thriving Communities

Respect for diversity

  • Promote Diversity and Inclusion

Respect for human rights

  • Conduct human rights due diligence and disclose results

Sustainable procurement

Procure raw materials in accordance with human rights and environmental impact

  • Establish responsible supply chain (Questionnaire survey for sustainable procurement)
  • Plan procurement of sustainable cocoa beans, certified palm oil and environmentally friendly paper

Sustainability: Sustainability investment

Invest JPY 30 bn in 3 years in sustainability investment Invest strategically to realize 2026 vision

Item JPY bn Content
Reduce CO2 emission 13
  • Introduce energy-saving equipment
  • Introduce solar power generator
Abolish totally the use of specific fluorocarbons 7
  • Install fluorocarbon-free refrigerators and freezer
Reduce domestic plastic usage 3
    Introduce manufacturing equipment for
  • Lighter and thinner plastic container packaging
  • Environmentally friendly container packaging
Secure water resources 3
    Introduce equipment for
  • improving water use efficiency
  • Improving wastewater quality
Other 4
  • Introduce manufacturing equipment for stable supply of pharmaceuticals
Total 30

KPIs for 2023 Medium-Term Business Plan

Indicator FYE 3/2022 FYE 3/2023 FYE 3/2024
(Plan)
Target for FYE 3/2024
(Initial plan)
Integrated goal Meiji ROESG® 12.3 points 13.8 points 13 points 13 points
Growth and Profitability Consolidated net sales JPY 1,013.0 bn JPY 1,062.1 bn JPY 1,098.5 bn JPY 1,080.0 bn
Consolidated operating profit (profit margin) JPY 92.9 bn
(9.2%)
JPY 75.4 bn
(7.1%)
JPY 80.0 bn
(7.3%)
JPY 120.0 bn
(11.1%)
Overseas net sales JPY 92.9 bn JPY 120.0 bn JPY 133.5 bn JPY 134.5 bn
Efficiency and Safety ROIC 8.4% 6.3% 6.5% ≥10%
Return to shareholders ROE 13.5% 10.0% 7.0% ≥11%
Dividend payout ratio 28% 36.4% 51.9% 40%

2023 Medium-term Business Plan Target for sales and operating profit

Food Segment Consolidated Sales and Operating Profit
(JPY bn)

figure of food segment consolidated sales

Pharmaceutical Segment Consolidated Sales and Operating Profit
(JPY bn)

figure of pharmaceutical segment consolidated sales