Toshiba Corporation: Revised Mid-term Business Plan and Management Strategies

    TOKYO, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba Corporation today announced a
 revised mid-term business plan that anticipates continued global growth, a
 strengthened management system, enhanced corporate value and reinforced mobile
 and network IT-related businesses.  The mid-term business plan fully reflects
 Toshiba's recently unveiled group management vision:  "To grow with excellence
 as the leading edge, Internet-Ready enterprise globally by accelerating
 innovation with agility, and to create a 21st century of success hand-in-hand
 with our customers."
     Through implementation of the plan, Toshiba aims to achieve consolidated
 net sales of 7,900 billion yen, operating income of 450 billion yen and net
 income of 200 billion yen in fiscal 2003.
 
     1. Basic strategy
 
     (1) Enhance corporate value by reinforcing the in-house company system
     In realizing its group management vision, Toshiba will strengthen the
 managerial autonomy of its in-house companies and enhance corporate
 governance.  At the corporate level, Toshiba will promote corporate governance
 and an overarching business direction toward growth, providing a unifying
 centripetal force that balances the centrifugal force of autonomous
 operations.
 
     To put it concretely;
 
     (a) Operations in two promising growth areas will be reorganized into
         dedicated in-house companies, giving them greater functional
         integration and management autonomy.  The e-Solution Company will
         integrate IT-related business units while the Mobile Communications
         Company will concentrate on the rapidly growing mobile equipment
         business.  Both companies will start operation on April 1.
 
     (b) Toshiba understands that the basic reason for its existence is to
         increase corporate value and emphasizes this as a central management
         issue.  With this in mind, we will introduce Toshiba Value Created
         (TVC) as a core management index.  TVC measures capital returns
         against the cost of capital.  Each in-house company will use its own
         target TVC to evaluate business results, providing criteria for
         investment and a framework for investment budgets.
 
     (2) Moving toward a market-centric management and culture
     The plan calls for accelerated moves toward a corporate culture based on
 the "voice of the customer,"(VOC) and that makes the methodology of Toshiba's
 six sigma based program for restructuring management structure, an integral
 part of all aspects of daily business activities.  Toshiba aims to maximize
 customer satisfaction and to be an excellent company that raises corporate
 value through development of advanced products and manufacturing technologies,
 that enjoys the confidence of its customers, and that develops a Internet-
 ready management organization.  The group-wide numbers of MI-trained Quality
 Experts (QE) and Senior Quality Expert (SQE) are expected to increase to
 3,200 by fiscal 2003.  The 15,000 projects and cost-saving benefits before
 taxes of 131.7 billion yen achieved in fiscal 2000 are to climb to
 28,000 projects and 210 billion yen in fiscal 2003.
 
     (3) Directing resources to IT
     The IT revolution continues in the global economy, and IT business remains
 the key for continued growth.  Toshiba is honing its competitiveness in the
 mobile- and network-related business areas.  Here, the company will draw on
 its advanced capabilities in core electronic components and promote global
 strategic management of development, manufacturing and sales.  Toshiba will
 enhance corporate value and expand business by reinforcing penetration of the
 ICVC.  This will promote cooperation among companies in such core businesses
 as mobile products and seek optimized resource-sharing that maximizes value-
 creating synergies.  The inter-company value chain established in 2000 will
 continue to promote cross-company projects that integrate the diverse
 capabilities of the in-house companies in new products and in product areas
 that add to corporate value.
 
     (a) Group-wide IT-related investment with a value of 310 billion yen is
         planned for the three years starting fiscal 2001, and an in-house
         IT-usage rate of 40% in December 2000 is expected to climb 100%
         by 2003.
 
     (b) Consolidated corporate-wide investment of 1,240 billion yen for the
         three years to 2003 is planned, approximately 1,000 billion yen of
         which will be directed to IT-related fields.
 
     (c) R&D investment will reach approximately 1,200 billion yen over the
         next three years, with 70% (900 billion yen) directed to the IT field.
 
     (4) Strengthen the profitability of legacy businesses
     In our legacy businesses, such as power systems, home appliances, medical
 systems and elevator and building systems, we are strengthening profitability
 through reshaping our portfolio and business structures and seeking new
 businesses.
 
     2. Targets
 
     The consolidated targets of the mid-term business plan are as follow.
 
                                                           (billion yen)
                                                       FY2002         FY2003
     Sales                                              7,400          7,900
     Operating income                                     350            450
     Net income                                           150            200
     ROE (%)                                            12.1%          14.4%
     Total debt                                         1,750          1,650
     D/E ratio (%)                                        96%            78%
 
    *Excluding Toshiba Credit Corp. and Toshiba Building & Lease Corp.
 
 
    Sales target of major businesses in FY2003;
 
     (a) Sales targets for the e-Solution Company for Internet solution and
         digital broadcasting service; The consolidated sales target for fiscal
         2003 is 750 billion YEN, up from 600 billion YEN in fiscal 2000.
 
     (b) Sales for mobile phones and PDAs of 550 billion yen are projected for
         FY2003.  (200 billion yen in FY2000)
 
     (c) Toshiba will differentiate its technological advantages through such
         capabilities as Bluetooth, miniaturization and low power consumption.
         Products developed in an agile response to VOC will be brought to
         market, particularly in the Japanese consumer market.  Products
         designed to cultivate new markets will be developed as the PC domain
         extends into such areas as Wireless Internet Appliances (WIA) and home
         servers.  PC sales of 1,000 billion yen are projected for FY2003.
         (720 million yen in FY2000)
 
     (d) Toshiba will maintain its position as the world's No. 1 supplier of
         discrete devices and continue to enjoy stable profitability.  The
         focus will be on growth markets, such as communications and digital
         home appliances, and on cementing a profitable business organization.
         Sales of 1,650 billion yen are projected for FY2003.
         (1,120 billion yen in FY2000)
 
     (e) LCD business resources will be focused on low temperature polysilicon
         TFT LCDs.  A new factory in Singapore, a joint venture with
         Matsushita, will support Toshiba in achieving its target of becoming
         one of the top LCD suppliers by 2033.  The sales of LCD in FY2003 is
         projected at 320 billion yen.  (FY2000: 150 billion yen)
 
     CONTACT:
 
     Toshiba Corporation
     Corporate Communications Office
     Kenichi Sugiyama
     e-mail:  kenichi.sugiyama@toshiba.co.jp
     Tel:  +81-3-3457-2105
     Fax:  +81-3-5444-9202
 
 

SOURCE  Toshiba Corporation