Investor Relations

FAQs

Governance

Please explain about your appointment of female officers.

We are aware that the Japanese government urges companies listed on the Prime Market to “strive to appoint at least one female executive by 2025” and “aim to raise the ratio of female executives to 30% or more by 2030.” Artner agrees that the appointment of female officers will be essential. The Nomination and Remuneration Committee is continuing to meet once every three months and discuss the appointment of female officers.

Dividend decision process

The dividend forecast revisions made on December 8, 2023 have increased the payout ratio to 75.1%,higher than your 50% ratio policy. Is this payout ratio sustainable? Is it possible for the payout ratio to fall back down to the original 50% at some point in time?

Our basic approach is to continue to grow our profit this year, ensuring that the dividend remains at least at the same amount as the previous year and continues to increase.

Market environment (updated as of Sep. 25, 2023)

How are you progressing toward recruiting 220 new graduates to join next April?

While I cannot provide specific figures, the number of jobs we offered as of the end of September exceeds last fiscal year’s 130 hires. We are still shy of this year’s 220 target.
Some people will change their mind and decide to apply to the private sector instead of the public service, or decide to look for jobs instead of applying to graduate school. Such people will be resuming their job-hunting activities after October 1, and we will closely follow the situation.
After October 1, we will carry out our recruitment activities until around the end of February to achieve our 220-person goal.

Market environment (updated as of Jul. 18, 2023)

How do you plan to deal with the upward pressure on wages caused by recent inflation? Many industries are raising wages to account for inflation. What is the situation with the unit prices of dispatched engineers?

Manufacturers, our main clients, are actively raising base wages for their employees in so-called wage hikes. Against the backdrop of such wage hikes, unit price negotiations for our engineer dispatching services have been smoother this fiscal year in particular, when compared to previous years.
We anticipate that the post-negotiation unit prices of our engineers will be greater than our estimates at the beginning of the year. Therefore, we believe this represents a positive trend as unit price negotiations for our engineer dispatching services have been progressing smoothly due to the various wage hikes.

How will the weaker yen affect your business?

As of right now, it is difficult to predict the effects of foreign exchange rates, including the weaker yen. With efforts to both control the spread of COVID-19 and drive economic activity, the economy is recovering moderately and the demand for our engineers in the automobile and semiconductor industries continues to be strong.

Are you involved in the rapid development of ChatGPT and other generative AI?

ChatGPT and other generative AI will require semiconductors that can process incredible amounts of information.
We anticipate increases in demand for the development of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Also, we intend to target those clients and actively provide engineer services.

Please explain about AI-related engineers.

Our software engineers are also involved in AI.

Has the demand for human resources in semiconductor-related industries recovered? Do you think the demand will increase?

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment manufacturers are one of our strategic targets. They currently have an incredibly high demand for human resources.

What can you tell me concerning the shortage in engineers supplied to your clients?

There continues to be a shortage in engineers, and there is high demand for engineers on the part of our clients.

What is your company’s market share in the industry? Do you have any strategies for increasing your market share?

By our calculations, if the estimated market size of the engineer dispatching business is between 1.1 and 1.3 trillion yen and our net sales were 9.2 billion yen at the end of our most recent fiscal year that ended on January 31, 2023, our market share would be between 0.7% and 0.8%. In our Medium-Term Business Plan, we aim to increase our market share with 1,600 engineers planned for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2025.

Strategies (updated as of Sep. 25, 2023)

What strategies do you have for differentiating yourself from your competition?

Unlike other companies in the same industry, we are increasing the weight of all our engineers assigned to processes from R&D to product development. We distribute a higher percentage of our engineers to these processes compared to other companies in the same industry. As an engineer dispatching services company specializing in these processes, we will continue differentiating ourselves from other companies in the same industry by actively recruiting, assigning, educating, and training our engineers.

Why did you choose to be on the Prime Market?

Many other companies in the same industry chose to list themselves on the Prime Market. Since our business begins with securing quality talent, we felt it was essential for our engineer recruitment activities that we list ourselves on the Prime Market like other companies in the same industry. Also, we believed that taking on the challenges of the Prime Market would help us achieve sustained growth and improve our enterprise value.

Why are the scale of your company and your market capitalization small compared to those of newer companies in the same industry?

Our current president, SEKIGUCHI Sozo, is our fourth president. Our previous three presidents focused on having a select number of employees conduct business operations centered around the Kansai region. Ever since our fourth president, we strove toward expanding the scale of the Company and listed ourselves on the stock market. From now on, we will tackle business challenges to close the gap in our market capitalization and pave the way for a new Artner.

What are your intentions for M&A?

In the medium to long term, we aim to establish new areas of expertise (e.g., chemistry, civil engineering and construction), mainly centered around M&A initiatives, to grow into a comprehensive technical service company.

Client companies

What advantages are there in relying on Artner, an external company, for our crucial R&D processes?

Currently, there is a great abundance of development themes within R&D.
Due to the sheer volume of development themes, it is possible that your company’s engineers may not be able to handle it alone.
We believe actively incorporating outside talent, instead of relying solely on your engineers, will help you avoid falling behind other companies in development and increase the speed of R&D.

Engineers

Do the engineers you have on standby fulfill the skills required by your clients?

In our customized (practical) training, we target the operations of specific clients and conduct training based on themes more pertinent to on-site operations. Through firsthand experience with the design and development process, they learn the technical skills required, both basic and practical.

What is the basic monthly salary for newly graduated engineers?

High Value Group
Basic Monthly Salary: 280,000 yen (with raises according to work hours and performance)
Monthly Salary Example: 415,875 yen at 23 years old (new employee), working in solid-state battery R&D (including 20 hours of overtime)
Yearly Salary Example: 9,482,000 yen at 39 years old (expert); 6,772,000 yen at 28 years old

Wide Value Group
Basic Monthly Salary:

Priduct Value Group
Basic Monthly Salary:

Do you have raises and bonuses?

Raises: Once a year (Apr.); Bonuses: Twice a year (Jul. & Dec.)

What are your employee benefits?

Enrolled insurance: Employment insurance, health insurance, employees’ pension insurance, workers’ accident compensation insurance, comprehensive welfare group term insurance

Off days and holidays: 126 annual off days, 2 days off per week (days off on all weekends and national holidays), Golden Week holidays, summer leave, New Year’s holidays, annual paid leave, half-day paid leave, special leave (congratulations/condolences, births, natural disasters, driver’s license renewals, etc.), child care and family care leave

Employee benefits: Child care and family care leave, employees’ saving scheme system, severance pay, job change assistance program, internal recruitment program, congratulatory and condolence payments, in-house rewards, etc.

Labor union: A labor union was formed to help us better improve the working conditions and environment for our employees, and negotiations are held between the union and our executives.

Employee Stock Ownership Association: This system allows employees to build their assets without a significant commitment through the purchase of company stocks. Funds to purchase company stocks are deducted from employee salaries and bonuses for non-burdensome, planned investments, with the Company paying out subsidies depending on how much money was contributed in a month.

Mental health care: Dedicated counselors are always available for consultations. They help our engineers find answers to various problems they face.

What skill development programs do you have for your engineers?

Career support courses: Courses are offered based on the job and career levels of our engineers so that they can meet the skill requirements of the manufacturers with which they were placed. Even after being placed into a department, engineers actually participating in a manufacturer’s project receive both on-the-job and off-the-job team training concerning technology and products in high demand.

Skill development seminars: We invite presidents from major companies and university professors to speak at our seminars. Around 10 times a year, these lecturers share technical information on various topics for our engineers’ personal growth.

Qualification acquisition assistance program: To help our engineers improve their skills, we established an assistance program in which recommended qualifications are set for each job category and level within the design and development process, with examination fees paid in full by us.

When manufacturers reduce production or R&D costs, they may opt to lay off personnel from dispatching companies wherever possible. Are there any staff at your company that are protected from such kinds of layoffs?

Even during the global financial crisis of 2008, Artner’s engineers who were assigned upstream in the work processes of manufacturers (R&D, design and development) rarely saw contract cancellations. Thus, we decided on a policy of increasing our engineers’ upstream assignment ratio. In order to recruit excellent students capable of upstream assignments, we implement internal programs based on the needs of engineers (including the job change assistance program, performance-based salary system, and limited area system) and conduct education and training that suit our clients’ upstream work before assigning the engineers.

https://www.artner.co.jp/en/sustainability/materiality/

What is the percentage of non-Japanese personnel at your company?

It was 1.4% in FY2022 and 1.0% in FY2023.

Stock

What is your securities code?

Securities code: 2163.

On which stock exchange is Artner’s stock listed?

It is listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

How many shares are in a trading unit?

100.

Which company is the shareholder registry administrator?

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.

Who do I contact for stock paperwork?

If you have any questions regarding procedures such as changing your address, name, or method of receiving dividends, please contact your securities company.
To inquire about procedures for shareholders whose shares are managed by a special account, or to request documentation for these procedures, please contact Mizuho Trust & Banking.
For details, please see Stock Information.

Do you offer shareholder benefits?

Artner’s basic policy is to reward shareholders through shareholder dividends, and the company offers no shareholder benefits.

Financial results

When is the Fiscal Year End?

January 31.

Why does your fiscal year end on January 31?

Our founder came to the conclusion that there are various merits to having a fiscal year that ends on January 31, and we continue to stick to that precedent to this day.

Where can I see the financial statements?

Summary of financial results, supplementary explanation materials, etc. are available in Filings and Reports.
For details, please see Summary of Financial Results.

General Meeting of Shareholders

When is the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders?

It is held in Osaka in late April every year.
Please see IR Calendar for the schedule of the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders.

Can I attend the General Meeting of Shareholders by proxy?

You may attend the meeting by proxy if you are represented by one other shareholder of the Company who is entitled to exercise voting rights.
In this case, a power of attorney must be submitted.

How long does it take for the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders?

The time required varies depending on the agenda, etc., but in a typical year, it takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

Will there be Gifts at the General Meeting of Shareholders?

No Gifts are available at the moment.
In consideration of fairness to shareholders who do not attend the meeting, we intend to return profits to shareholders through stable dividends.

Do you have shareholder get-togethers?

Not planned.

Factors causing fluctuations in net sales, profits, etc.

When are bonuses expensed?

With respect to bonuses paid in July, the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year (November to January) and the first quarter of the current fiscal year (February to April) are the reserve periods, and bonuses are prorated and expensed then.
With respect to bonuses payable in December, the second quarter (May to July) and the third quarter (August to October) of the current fiscal year are the reserve periods, and bonuses are prorated and expensed then.
In addition, an earnings bonus will be paid at the end of the fourth quarter and charged to expenses according to the status of the full-year results.

What is the seasonal factor in the total work person-hours?

For the Company, the first half is from February to July and the second half is from August to January due to the January settlement.
In the second half of the year, there are summer and winter leaves and fewer work days, so the total work person-hours tend to decrease compared with the first half.
Q1 (February to April) has no consecutive off days or long holidays like in other quarters, such as the Golden Week holidays, summer leave, or winter leave. Consequently, the total work person-hours per engineer tends to increase, leading to a higher profit margin per engineer.

What can you tell me about your “utilization rate” and “utilization rate (including trainees)”?

Utilization rate(%)= The number of dispatched staff / The number of staff signed up for dispatching but not yet dispatched
New graduates and others who joined the company in midyear are not counted until after they are deployed. It serves as an index that indicates the assignment status of our current engineers, excluding newly graduated engineers prior to their assignments.

Utilization rate (incl. trainees)(%)= The number of dispatched staff / Company-wide number of engineers
Newly graduated engineers and other trainees who joined Artner during the fiscal year are included in the denominator.
It serves as an index that indicates the assignment status of our current engineers, including newly graduated engineers.

Recruitment

How long is the training period for newly graduated engineers?

Before their assignment, they undergo general training, outside on-the-job training, and customized training over a combined period ranging from four months to a year, depending on how quickly they learn.　During the training period, they concentrate on acquiring the basic knowledge and skills required at their assigned companies.

How long is the training period for career engineers?

There are two categories of career hires: previous graduates with no experience and recent graduates with little experience, and veterans. Previous graduates with no experience and recent graduates with little experience undergo training periods similar to those of newly graduated engineers. Veterans are anticipated to be assigned to projects they generally have experience in, so they have an estimated training period of roughly two months.

Do you hire non-Japanese?

We are open to hiring non-Japanese, with a focus on international students already in Japan. As of right now, non-Japanese employees still represent a small portion of our company.

Other

When does the right to dividends accrue?

January 31 and July 31.

How is cash used?

The Company has a policy of keeping approximately three months’ worth of monthly net sales in cash on hand, with the rest being surplus cash.
There are labor costs and other costs until the newly graduated engineers of the year start operations, but the Company’s business structure does not require aggressive capital investment.
This is an industry that is going to undergo a lot of restructuring in the future, so we think the ideal is to use cash as part of M&A financing, including for the future growth of the Company.

Do you have interest-bearing liabilities?

As of the end of the fiscal year ended January 31, 2023, we have no interest-bearing liabilities.

When will the financial results be released?

We plan to announce full financial results in mid-March, first quarter results in early June, second quarter results in early September, and third quarter results in early December.
Please see IR Calendar for other schedules.

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