would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for your continued support of our business operations.
This year the Japanese economy showed signs of recovery in such areas as post-earthquake reconstruction demand, but uncertainty persisted with stagnation of domestic capital investment, continuation of the European debt crisis and concern over the economic downturn in emerging countries.
In the automotive industry, which is the core business domain of our group, domestic sales declined following the end of the eco car subsidy program, and output dropped due to worsening of Sino-Japanese relations, but thanks to growth in the North American and ASEAN markets, both production and sales were on the rebound.
Under these circumstances, our group worked to enhance performance through aggressive business development, and as a result, sales and profit both surpassed the previous year's results.
As for the future business environment, moderate growth is expected in both the domestic and global economies, but at the same time, the domestic automotive market is expected to shrink, and competition is likely to become even fiercer with the acceleration of overseas production shifts and other such developments.
As a global supplier, our group will fully leverage our "Fabless & Factory" capabilities to enhance our performance and strengthen our operating foundation.
As always, I thank our shareholders for your continued support and encouragement.