NEXCO CENTRAL (Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited)




June 24, 2009 Yano Chairman's Regular Press Conference

Conference Summary

(Moderator)

Then we will start a regular conference.


(Chairman)

NEXCO CENTRAL Hironori Yano, Chairman and CEO

Hello everyone. First, the current state of the business.
Regarding the situation of Expressway, fee revenue in May was -24.2% compared to the same month last year. High speed is minus 23.7%, and general pay is minus 28.9%. Revenue decreased significantly due to discounts on charges for "emergency comprehensive measures" and "living measures." The average number of traffic per day was minus 0.7%. High speed is minus 1.4%, and general pay plus 1.9%.
The ETC discount increased significantly, to 29,374 million yen, an increase of 93.9%, almost double that of 15,147 million yen in the same month last year. If there was no ETC discount, the fee income was 66,876 million yen, up 3.5% from the same month last year. As a result, the discount rate of ETC is 43.9%.
I will explain about the traffic volume by type of vehicle that I always talk about. Mini-cars account for 104.9%, ordinary cars 102.5%, medium-sized cars 84.8%, large cars 80.8%, and oversized cars 77.6%. Looking at the trends of medium, large, and oversized, it has been flat since February, but there is some ups and downs, but it may be good to see that you hit the bottom in such a state. The number of mini-cars has consistently exceeded 100%, but it has been negative for some time in March and April, but it has been positive here. This is traffic statistics, but when you look at the mileage, the numbers have changed a lot, with mini cars accounting for 116.9% and ordinary cars at 119.3%. The mileage of a standard car has increased by 13-14% from 45km in April to 51km in May. The total number of kilometers traveled is lighter and longer for normal. In terms of mileage alone, medium-sized vehicles account for 85.2%, large-sized vehicles 84.4%, and oversized vehicles 83.2%, for an average of 108.8%. This is the road business situation.

Next, the construction situation is unchanged from last month. It is as described.

The status of ETC was 82.5% utilization on a monthly basis. If you look at the weekly basis, 63.1-6/18 exceeded 83.1%, and weekdays and holidays exceeded 83%. I think that it can be said that the usage rate is steadily increasing since 5/8 to 5/14 of the previous month was 82.5%.
The cumulative number of OBEs installed has been approximately 25.54 million units, an increase of 2% compared to the end of April.

The service area situation is 109.9% compared to the previous year. If you divide it into weekdays and holidays, holidays are 138.8% and weekdays are 90.3%, so I think the effect of price discounts is very large.
In particular, Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway has 137.9% of sales routes in our jurisdiction. Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway shows the largest increase in traffic compared to the previous year. The service area situation shows the same tendency.
Looking at sales by 109.9% by category, the food and beverage section 114.0%, the merchandise section 116.5%, the service section, this is rest-in and bath, but this is 114.7%, the gasoline section 92.9%, and the advertising section is originally small. Is 280.0%. In addition, the refueling amount of gasoline has increased considerably to 122.4%, but the unit price is greatly different from last year, and regular and high octane are 36 yen cheaper than last year, so in terms of sales, they still have reached 100% There is no, but I think that the situation has changed considerably compared to one time. Diesel oil is not good at 97.0%.

The above is the business situation.

Next, I will explain Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway's efforts to make it four lanes. Gujo-Hachiman-Gifu Yamato will change to 4 lanes on July 17. This completes the 4-lane transition from Ichinomiya to Shirotori. As you know, the extension plan to Hida Kiyomi was decided at the National Assembly meeting in April. At the end of May, a maintenance plan was finalized, and we and the government are working together as a business entity. I want to do my best to open it as soon as possible.
In the future, we will study and design the construction method in close consultation with local people and related organizations, and we would like to place an order by the end of this fiscal year. I would like to work with that. For that purpose, on July 1st, we will establish Gujo Takayama Construction Zone at Gifu Construction Office, and we would like to do the whole there.
The evaluation and utilization of local companies has become an issue, and this time it is a merger, so we will set regional requirements for application requirements in terms of construction orders, or evaluate the utilization of local companies and local materials. Or I would like to set up an efficient ordering unit so that we can promote our business with a view to helping to develop the region. We are currently studying various things, and I would like to report on specific measures as soon as they are decided.

Next, it will be just one year in July since the whole line of Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway was opened, but we will report on the traffic situation so far. As shown in the material, the average traffic volume is about 7,000 vehicles daily, 5,000 vehicles / day on weekdays, and 10,000 vehicles / day on holidays. As we have reported, the new rate structure has changed the situation on Saturday and Sunday. If you look at page 4, you can see that the traffic volume in the section before and after the opening of Hida Kiyomi and Shirakawa-go is almost doubled.
If you look at page 5, you can see from the picture that the connection between the Hokuriku region and the Chubu and Kinki regions has become very strong.
See page 7 for the impact on the local community. As for sightseeing, there are various regional paintings, and the numbers are rising in the Tonami area, the Hida area, and the Tono area. You can see that the number of tourists has increased by about 18%.
If you look at page 8, you can clearly see the increase in the number of tourists visiting Shirakawa-go.
Express buses have also increased considerably. This is on page 11.
Then, we talked about the use of emergency hospitals, and Expressway was very effective, but if you look at page 12, you can see that the number of emergency transports from Shirakawa to Takayama is 26, This means that it has increased 2.7 times, and I think it has been very useful in everyday life.
Then, it is convenient to go to school and it is not written here, but there are no high schools in Shirakawa village, so there are now 10 children who go to Takayama from Shirakawa village by school bus every day. I used to be boarding before. It's small, but I think it can be said that big changes are appearing in each family.
Explaining everything will be long, so I would like to see the rest of the material.
This document will be released at the same time as Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism with Hokuriku Regional Development Bureau and Chubu Regional Development Bureau as of today.

Next, a commemorative event will be held on July 4th and 5th on the first anniversary of the opening of Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway and the completion of the four-lane project for Hyogatake PA-Shirotori IC. This is scheduled to be announced at 15:00 from our Kanazawa Regional Head Office and Nagoya Regional Head Office.
As I mentioned earlier, we will celebrate the first anniversary of the opening of the entire line, and on 17th, we will have a four-lane completion at Shirotori, so we are planning a commemorative event listed in each SA. At 15:00 on July 5, many customers, including the governor of Gifu Prefecture, will come to the Seki service area for a commemorative ceremony on the day of Toyama-Gifu exchange. It's on the road, so even though it's a mirror opening, there's NEXCO Central Japan water, and I'm going to pack that water in a barrel and do that.
In addition to this event, we will announce a new menu at SA and PA with a new meal menu, and as an eco-back gift, the extension of the Hida tunnel is 10.71 km, and the first 1,071 supporters will be commemorative eco-friendly. I will give you a back. Just on this day, the game of J2 is scheduled to be held, and there is a little feeling, but a present.

Next, change the discount conditions for commuting discounts and weekday daytime discounts. This was already announced in a press release on June 19, and the material is as at hand. I don't explain it because you know what it is, but the new fare discount that started at the end of March is going on step by step. We have been working ahead of schedule to get things done as soon as we can, but with the measures of July 8, we will have a breakthrough.

Next, today's announcement is the launch of our own accommodation products. It is "NEXCO Central Japan Summer Special Accommodation Plan".
This is a fast-selling day, starting July 1st. A shopping ticket worth 1,000 yen will be given to the first 100 people who have applied for accommodation products of 10,000 yen or more among the customers who have used the accommodation plans of 50 inns and hotels that we have independently partnered with To do.
Also, it is a tour to visit the facility of Expressway, which we have been conducting several times so far, called the Expressway asset utilization type tour, but this will also be executed sequentially It's a schedule.

Also announced today is a plan called “Pokemon SA / PA Great Adventure! 2009”, which is a summer vacation period from July 17 to the end of August, but it is just a summer vacation, but family travel with children will increase. With that in mind, we're going to do a stamp rally, a present, or a full tank refueling campaign with Pokemon, a popular character. When Pokémon Stamp Rally collects and applies stamps, 10,000 people will be given a Pokémon picture book sheet by lottery. The gift campaign is for gifts of Pokemon goods to 1,650 people who purchase over 2,000 yen. The full tank refueling campaign may be large or small, but if you fill the tank full, you will receive an original Pokemon sticker. By all means, I hope that this summer vacation will be enjoyed by traveling families.

Next is Hayabune's summer menu. This is also today's announcement. Menu for the period from July 4 to September 18. There are 21 kinds of menus, including sweetfish, hamo, summer vegetables, or local rich Hida beef and Sakura shrimp. Reservations start today, June 24th. Detailed contents are as per your document.

Lastly, every time, I will explain about our environmental initiatives with examples, but today we will introduce about local seedlings. In this picture, we entered Ken-O Road a little from Hachioji JCT of Chuo Expressway. As a result of planting local seedlings in May 2000, the picture on the left looks like a forest on the right, which is in very good condition. Since last year, under the guidance of experts, we have conducted a survey of the natural recovery situation, but we have determined that it is proceeding smoothly.
The local seedlings are not only used at Ken-O Road, but also at construction sites at Shin-Tomei Expressway and Shin-Meishin Expressway. The status of invading plants and soil animals is as shown in the table.
Such local seedlings are natural, but they have been evaluated as a very good initiative, and next year, COP10 will be held in Nagoya. I believe. The picture on the back shows how to do this local seedling, but you can see how it grows in numerical order. We have a greening technology center, so we are making seedlings from seeds and restoring them, and we will continue to increase such opportunities.

It's been a long time, but that's it for reporting.

 


(Moderator)

Then, thank you if you have any questions.


(Reporter)

It's been a year since Tokai Hokuriku Motor opened, but it's an assessment, Expressway I think that there were various effects such as discounting, but what do you think of the results this time? Also, please tell us about your future challenges and how you would like to work on them in the future.


(Chairman)

What I realize is that, fortunately, we are in charge of new routes, not only for the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway question, but also for the new Shin-Meishin Expressway, so even if this economic downturn happens However, when it comes to traffic volume, it contributes to the positive aspects. I think this is how significant the significance of not only our road management company but also the straight connection between the Hokuriku region and the Tokai region. So, this is the same in macroeconomic terms, and I think it has had a big impact on the aspects of family life and social life that I mentioned earlier.
Roads connect towns and towns, and points become lines, and when it becomes a network, it becomes a plane. Points become lines and lines become planes. This will cause a dramatic change. With Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway, one side has Hokuriku Expressway west side, and networking has a really big impact.
It is said that the economy is bad for the time being, but considering the future, the economy will surely recover someday. At that time, what I should pay attention to is China, Korea and Russia. I think the port on the Sea of Japan side will definitely prosper.
And there is a large industrial area in the Tokai region, and in the Hokuriku region, the speed of this road has been slightly reduced due to the opening of this road. I think was born.
On the other hand, as traffic increases, the question of how to achieve what we have stated as our management philosophy of safety, security, and comfort comes up. To put it simply, this is a four-lane system that will complete the Shirotori. I think that it was good that the four lanes to Hida Kiyomi were decided this time. After all, face-to-face traffic should not be a concern when the traffic volume exceeds a certain level. As a future task, this time it is the northern part from Hida Kiyomi. This is the area where the Hida tunnel is located.
Last July, 24.9km was opened between Hida Kiyomi IC and Shirakawago IC. The longest tunnel among them is the Hida tunnel, which is 10.7 km long. However, there is not only one tunnel, but ten tunnels in this section. It exits the tunnel, exits into the lights, and immediately in the tunnel again, almost in a state of being almost connected, the tunnel is a total of 20.5 km. There are ten tunnels, but in a sense, there is a long tunnel in this section, so considering the future safety, security, and comfort, it will eventually become a four-lane problem. I think it will be.
This is an issue that cannot be progressed without local consensus and local consensus, but this is an issue we are deeply aware of.


(Reporter)

We asked about the evaluation of Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway after its opening. What are your thoughts on the impact on local communities in particular?


(Chairman)

After all, I talked about the location of factories and personal homes, but I think that the biggest thing is that the flow of people and goods is increasing, and the traffic of people is becoming active. . In particular, I think that the tourist area is becoming very popular. With the support of the local people, the road was completed, and I am a little terrified at Gada Hikisui, but I feel that I am really pleased. I have a chance to meet with various people, such as prefectures, municipalities, or local tourist associations, but I can feel the direct and indirect good effects that this Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway has on my skin. I think you are


(Reporter)

If you estimate the economic effect of this opening, please tell us how much it was effective.


(Chairman)

Although it is a little old document, there is a document surveyed by the Hokuriku Economic Federation, and it is a document about what will happen after opening compared to 1999, but there is a total economic effect of 730 billion yen per year. There are no other macro-economic numbers that can not be introduced, so there are some old research results. This is a number that includes everything from industry, agriculture, fisheries and tourism.


(Reporter)

Expressway The number of traffic in May was 99.3%, which was almost the same as the previous year, but how much did the situation in June change from the previous year?


(Chairman)

I think it's a similar trend. We keep the situation on a weekly basis, but the trend is the same. If there is a change, isn't it summer vacation? At this stage, we have such a view.


(Moderator)

If there are no other specific questions, we will end the 44th regular press conference.
Thank you very much.