December 19, 2007 Chairman Yano's regular press conference

(Moderator)

Then we will start a regular conference.

(Chairman)

Thank Hello everyone.
There are several projects today, so I will explain them in order.
First of all, regarding the current state of the business, toll revenue in November was minus 0.2% year-on-year. The breakdown is minus 0.9% for high speed and plus 6.9% for general charge. Sales of highways are declining due to an increase in discounts due to the spread of ETC. Ken-O Road of general tolls increased due to the opening of the Ken-O Expressway.
The average number of passengers per day is 1,760,000, which is an increase of 3.5%. High speed is plus 3.1%, general charge is plus 5.1%.
The ETC discount amount is 14.9 billion yen, and if there is no ETC discount, the toll revenue would be 66 billion yen, so this month's ETC discount rate is 22.5%. It's about the same rate as last month.

As you can see, the Shin-Meishin Expressway will open on February 23rd. The topics of construction business and maintenance / service business will be explained later.

Regarding the successful bid rate for construction contracts for major construction types, there were 16 contracts for major construction types in November, with an average successful bid rate of 88.25% and a cumulative total of 85.81% for the fiscal year.

Next is the status of ETC. The daily average usage rate is a preliminary figure, but this month it was 72.7%, and the same month last year was 66.5%, an increase of about 6 points. If you extract by dividing a certain week, it is 73.8% from December 7th to 13th. Weekdays are 75.8% and holidays are 68.0%, both of which are about 1% higher than the previous month. The number of on-board units installed is 17.55 million.

SA sales were up 5.2% year-on-year. The breakdown is plus 1.1% for the food and beverage sector, plus 0.5% for the product sales sector, plus or minus 0% for the service sector, and plus 19.7% for the gasoline sector. There was a rise in the price of gasoline, but as you know, Expressway is one week behind the general price, so I think that one week's delay had a big impact. After a week, it will catch up with the general price. The above is the current state of the business.

Next is the topic. First, I would like to report on the 2nd Shin-Tomei Expressway Dream Road Roundtable. We had a site tour and a round-table conference on December 10th last month, and for the reporters who were in sight at the venue on that day, we gave a brief briefing after the end, but it is a good opportunity. , I will explain the situation on the day.
Please see the material. The composition of the committee members and the purpose of the round-table conference are as described here. As I explained before, we are holding a dream road round-table conference because we want to build a "world-leading Expressway system". There is a future plan on the 4th page, but in March I would like to decide the basic strategy for introducing various services at Shin-Tomei Expressway.
As the main deliberation contents of the 2nd round-table conference, the result of taking a questionnaire to general users was reported, and it was pointed out that there are many trucks and it is dangerous and there is a problem of traffic congestion. Hearings from logistics companies have pointed out logistics costs.
There were various opinions from the teachers. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that there are differences in needs between generations, and it is necessary to proactively provide information. Considering the future of gasoline prices, we will shift to electricity. There was something like going on. In addition, the transportation cost is too high, the driver shortage is serious, the future plan should be considered with the idea that the infrastructure, users and automobiles are one, and there is also the idea of a truck-only lane, but it is for regular use only. There may be a way of thinking of lanes, there is an opinion that freight cars and general cars should be separated, and discussions should be held that will lead to regional revitalization, and tourists from foreign countries will come in the future. There is a goal of 10 million people in the increasing number of "Visit Japan", but there was an opinion that it is necessary to deal with it because it is quite possible that the number will increase beyond that.
Next, the characteristic data that appeared in the questionnaire of general users is written here, but the problems of the current Tomei Expressway are that there are many trucks and it is dangerous, and other problems such as traffic congestion are pointed out. Therefore, the expectation for Shin-Tomei Expressway is Expressway, which is smooth without traffic jams, and the road is not mixed with trucks and passenger cars.
Summarizing these opinions, I think it is necessary to continue to consider various services, as described in the middle of page 8.
Speaking of specialized logistics companies, the problem of soaring costs, specifically labor costs, has been pointed out, and as you can see on this map of Japan, the line connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka is truly. Where the number of freight users is overwhelmingly large, you can see how high the expectations for this are.
In response to these various requests on page 10, we believe that various services exist as items to be considered, as shown in the box in the middle. This is still in the image stage, as shown on page 11 in the future, but I think we will be able to consolidate a more concrete one at the round-table conference in March.

Next is the second topic, TDM for New Year, Traffic Demand Management, Traffic Demand Management, which was announced by the press on December 13th, and it will be the year-end and New Year holidays again, so we will give you materials We are handing out. It will be held in Tomei, Chuo Expressway, and Tomei Osaka. This is the 4th time for Tomei. This is my first time in Higashi-Meihan. Tomei's new initiative is to target the Odawara-Atsugi Road And "Yamanashi tour ETC pass". Such tour discounts are becoming more and more popular, and thanks to you, the number of users is increasing, but we will do it from January 10th to March. This time, we will work with not only JTB but also Kinki Nippon Tourist. I would like to continue to enhance it by trying to combine a drive and an accommodation plan.
It's a bit of a PR story, but especially TDM wants to get rid of the New Year's traffic. There is a limit to how much we can think about the hardware side, so we have a strong desire to eliminate traffic congestion from the software side. Not only for New Year, but I'm starting to feel a sense of response in the past several times. Based on that experience, I would like to make it a success this time.

The third is "Watch out for winter roads". I gave a notice to issue this on the 21st of last month, but I will hand it out because it is ready to have. Distribution started on the 10th, and it was released on the homepage from the 18th. I printed 100,000 copies of this pamphlet at first, but immediately there was a request for another 10,000 copies, and I am doing that. In addition to distributing it to SAs and PAs, it is used in various places such as bus associations, trucking associations, and driving schools, and we hope that you will make use of it. The version for spring, summer and autumn is released in autumn, but it is intended for driving on snowy roads in winter.

The fourth topic is the New Year's Congestion Prediction Guide. This was also announced on November 30th, and the same thing is being distributed today, but like the New Year's TDM, I would like to make an effort to eliminate traffic congestion.

Then next is the start of the travel business, which is the first announcement today. I registered for the second type of travel business and started business. The second type of travel business is to be able to carry out domestic recruitment-type planned trips. You can do pack trips, etc. Planning and implementing foreign package trips is the first type. Kinki Nippon Tourist and JTB are being done. The second type can be done in Japan, so of course we can entrust the first type company to help with overseas travel, but it is the domestic package travel that we plan and carry out by ourselves.
From now on, I would like to make a concrete plan and actually propose it.

The sixth topic is the sale of canned penetrating stones. This was also announced on December 6th, but it looks like this. It's on that desk, so everyone may have something to do, so I think it would be nice if you could bring it home and put it on your desk. I think it will make you feel better if you rattle when something is unpleasant. I also put it on my desk, and when I receive a lot of boring reports, I feel like I'm rattling and changing my mood.

Finally, the seventh step is the reorganization of maintenance and management operations into Companies in our Group. This is a new announcement today. First, on December 14th Central Nippon Highway Maintenance Chuoh Company Limited began operations. As a result, we now have a system of four Companies in our Group that handle maintenance, or maintenance and repair work. Next week on the 25th, Central Nippon Highway Engineering Tokyo Company Limited is scheduled to begin operations. As a result, we will now have two engineering companies, or Companies in our Group involved in maintenance and inspection services.
We have been saying for some time that we will consolidate the current 30 companies into 10 companies for the four maintenance and management tasks, but the current situation is as follows: There is a list at number 3. We have two companies for toll collection, two companies for traffic management and patrol, two companies for maintenance inspection, and four companies for maintenance and repair. Of these, 9 companies circled in thick frames have already been scheduled, including next week's schedule. Also, when the patrol companies in the Tokyo area are completed, which I think will be around February of the new year, there will be a system of 10 companies.

That's all for today's announcements and reports.

(Moderator)

Then, thank you if you have any questions.

(Reporter)

I have a question about entering the travel industry. The first point is when and what kind of sales channel you are thinking about specific product development, and the second point is the image of specific products such as a combination of Expressway I would like to.

(Chairman)

We have plans that we have partnered with Kinki Nippon Tourist and various other places. I would like to start with an extension of that experience. I'm thinking of a plan that includes a plan discount and an inn, and I'd like to put it into practice at the beginning of the year.
I haven't gotten to the point of announcing a concrete plan yet, but I've been doing various things such as a tour of Mt. Fuji and now a tour of Kanzanji Onsen, and there are more than 1,000 applications, and gradually. I think it has become known to the world. So, if we build on that kind of thing. I think it's best not to do anything far away, but to go steadily with the experience so far plus alpha. One of the most popular things we have done recently is the "Fuji Tour Weekday Drive Campaign," which received about 1,500 cases. I haven't actually used it that much, though. And "Shinshu Chunanshin ETC Free Pass", which also received about 1,500 applications, was actually used by nearly 1,300 people. The current "Lake Hamana Kanzanji Onsen Discount Plan" has received about 1,700 applications and is already in use by about 1,000 people. It depends on the content of the plan, but I'm feeling the response as it gradually becomes known and some people use it. Now that I have a travel business license, I would like to increase the number of projects I can do on my own, and of course there are things that we lack in terms of experience, so we also partner with JTB and Kinki Nippon Tourist. I'm thinking of doing it while doing it.

(Reporter)

You say that you are currently working in partnership with JTB and Kinki Nippon Tourist, but do you mean that travel plans, for example, can be done with the image of an airplane code-sharing?

(Chairman)

I agree. I think there is such a way. I would like to increase the number of partners a little without limiting them too much.

(Reporter)

What is the internal system for starting the travel business?

(Chairman)

For the time being, I'm thinking of setting up a sales office at the head office and working with five people. However, I don't think opening a store in the city is that powerful in many ways, and I'm thinking of doing it online. We will operate in virtual stores using the WEB. I will set up a head office sales office for the time being, but I would like to start without setting up other sales offices.

(Reporter)

Does it mean that travel planners will also fumble from scratch?

(Chairman)

Two of the five are general travel business handling managers, and one is a domestic travel business handling manager, so we invited people with expertise from the outside, we are still true. In a sense, I haven't reached the level of professionalism, so I'm not defeated by enthusiasm, but I'm thinking of doing it with the help of outside wisdom.

(Reporter)

Expressway companies starting this kind of travel business?

(Chairman)

For a moment about other companies. Do you know who I think it's the first time in Central Japan.

(Moderator)

I will confirm it and will inform you later in this press conference.

(Reporter)

Regarding the travel industry, you mentioned earlier that you have a virtual store on the WEB. When do you think it will open?

(Chairman)

I got my travel license on the 16th of this week, so I'm preparing now. If the date is fixed, let me know about this as well.

(Moderator)

Then, while you wait for a while, we will distribute "Toru Ishinuki" to everyone.

(Reporter)

How is it selling?

(Moderator)

I received a question about sales, but I heard that 2,000 units have been sold in the 10 days since its release.
As for the question about the travel industry, I heard that we were the first of the three companies affiliated with the former Japan Highway Public Corporation to register. And the time to open the second WEB store is undecided at this time because I just got a license as explained by the chairman.

(Moderator)

If you have no other questions, this is the end of the 26th regular press conference.
Finally, there is one notice. We will publish the greetings of the chairman at the beginning of next year to the press, so please attend. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your busy schedule today.

(Chairman)

Thank you very much. Have a nice year.