June 22, 2011 Kaneko Chairman and President Regular Meeting

(Moderator)

Thank you for waiting. The 68th regular press conference is about to begin.

 

(Chairman and President)

Thank you for joining us in your busy schedule.
We are preparing 7 topics today.
The first is an overview of our business in May 2011.
Fee income in May was 34,342 million yen, down 6.1% from the same month the year before.
By breakdown, high-speed trains were 31,959 million yen, down 3.7%, and Hiyu were 2,383 million yen, down 29.9%.
On the other hand, the average number of passengers in May was 1,884,000 units, an increase of 9.1% year-on-year.
The breakdown is that the daily average for high-speed vehicles is 1,401,000 units, an increase of 3.8%.
Regarding the number of passing traffic, despite the effects of the weather and the Great East Japan Earthquake on holiday use, the effect of free social experiments centered on general toll roads exceeded this, and overall it increased by 9.1% compared to last year. .
On the other hand, the fee income was negative compared to last year due to the effects of weather and the Great East Japan Earthquake in addition to free social experiments.
The ETC discount amount for this month was 32.1 billion yen, which is a 2.3% decrease from the same month last year of 32.9 billion yen.
The discount rate is about 48.3%.

Next is the construction situation.
Is scheduled to open to the end of this fiscal year, the metropolitan area center Contact Road (Ken-O Road regard to inter-2.0㎞ of Hachioji junction from) Hachioji Minami Interchange, is a "business method according to the general national highway projects and toll road business", We are working diligently to work together with the government and our company.

Next is the usage of ETC excluding the free social experiment section.
In the latest 6/3 to 6/9, the daily average number of passengers increased by 10.1% and the average daily utilization rate decreased from 89.7% to 89.5% by 0.2% compared to 5/6 to 5/12. . By weekday and weekends and holidays, the average usage rate on weekdays was 89.8% to 89.5%, down 0.3%, and the average usage rate on weekends and holidays was 89.5% to 89.4%, down 0.1%.
The total number of vehicle-mounted devices installed at the end of May increased by 0.5% from the end of April, increasing by 180,000 units to approximately 34.69 million units.

Next is the situation of the service area.
Sales in the service area in May were ¥ 15,018 million, a year-on-year increase of 101.0%. By road, 140.2% of Higashi-Meihan Expressway handou and 120.0% of Meishin were strong.
Higashi-Meihan Expressway, EXPASA Goshosho continues to be well-received by many customers, and Meishin believes that it will be affected by the period of intensive construction.
Breaking down sales by division, the “Food and Food Sales Division” was down 95.6% year-on-year, to ¥ 56 million.
A further breakdown of the “Food and Beverage Sales Division” is that the “Food and Beverage Division” was 102.4% up from the previous year, an increase of 92 million yen, and the “Food Sales Division” was a 98.0% year on year, to 148 million yen. It is decreasing.
Next, in the “service sector (rest in, bath)”, it was 39.5 billion yen, up 109.5% from the previous year.
Lastly, in the “GS division”, the refueling volume was 97.2% of the previous year's level, down from the previous year, but due to the unit price difference of 13 yen, sales were 106.1% of the previous year's total, 219 million yen. The yen is increasing.

Next, it is a topic related to the free opening of the Tohoku region, the abolition of the holiday upper limit, and the temporary freeze of social experiments.
From June 20, the local upper limit of 1000 yen for special holidays was abolished, free social experiments were temporarily frozen, and free measures to support victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and support for recovery and reconstruction began. .
At Expressway, NEXCO Central Japan, no major troubles such as congestion at the toll gates due to free measures in the Tohoku region have occurred.
Although it has already been covered in the press, there are restrictions on how to use it, so please cooperate in making it known.
Please see the leaflet that says "How to pass free measures in the Tohoku region".
Target vehicles are those who have a "Disaster Certificate" of the Great East Japan Earthquake, or medium-sized vehicles such as trucks and buses.
Eligible travel will be subject to free measures for sections where the designated interchange in the Tohoku area is either the entrance or exit, and usually one payment is required.
Pay particular attention to the way of traffic.
Use of the ETC lane is not free. At the entrance, be sure to collect a pass in the general lane, and use the general lane at the exit.
Light cars and regular cars are limited to the victims, so it is necessary to show the certificate such as the disaster certificate and the documents such as the driver's license that can identify you to the staff at the exit toll gate.
If you use Tomei Expressway from the Tohoku area via the Shuto Expressway, the Shuto Expressway and Tomei Expressway are not eligible for free.
Please have a look at the Expressway fee brochure based on the holiday special discount of 1,000 yen for local areas and the end of the free social experiment.
In addition, I think that the traffic volume after the free social experiment was completed has returned to the traffic volume before the experiment.
In addition, the local special upper limit of 1000 yen for holiday special discounts has ended. There was last-minute demand on the 18th and 19th of last week, but there was no major confusion.

Next topic.
We are pleased to inform you that the entrance to the Kawaguchiko area of the Chuo Expressway Expressway Tsuru Interchange, which Yamanashi Prefecture and our company have been promoting, has been completed and will be available from 3 pm on August 10.
The Tsuru Interchange, located in Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture, has been used as a half interchange that allows you to enter and leave Tokyo and Nagoya.
Yamanashi Prefecture took the lead in promoting construction of the Chuo Expressway a "Regional Revitalization Inter" for the purpose of relieving congestion on parallel National Route 139 and revitalizing the region. The entrance to the area will be opened.
This makes it possible to use the Chuo Expressway to move from Tsuru City to Fuji-Yoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture, which greatly shortens travel time and improves convenience, as well as sightseeing around Tsuru City and Lake Kawaguchi. It is expected to have the effect of connecting the base and local resources, and helping to form an attractive tourist resort.
In addition, we believe that it can contribute greatly to the creation of a city where people in the area can live "safely, comfortably and comfortably" by ensuring high-speed movement and transportation in emergency situations such as medical care and disaster prevention, and alleviating traffic congestion on surrounding roads. I will.

The next topic is about the new product "Pecogliano Deli," which will be available in 6 service areas and parking areas from July 1st.
The new product "Pecogliano Deli" was planned by a project team consisting of female and young employees of NEXCO Central Japan Group. The concept is "style" and "local production for local consumption" that can be eaten "while walking", "on the table" or "in the car" regardless of the scene.
This time, the products we sell will be healthy with abundant vegetables, a proper amount that is not too much for women, and customers can easily eat sweets, which is a staple dish, with one hand. It is a lineup that will please you.
We will make "Pecogliano Deli" a series in the future so that many customers can support it, so please look forward to "Pecogliano Deli".
In addition, today, we are preparing a tasting of "Pecogliano Deli". After the conference, I would like you to enjoy the newly released "Pecogliano Deli".

Next topic.
We have already announced on June 16th, we would like to inform you about the "1st Sweets Contest" for restaurants in the NEXCO Central Japan area.
Although there are 38 stores in the materials, the number of target stores increased by 1 from this Monday, and 39 stores are currently participating.
This contest is the first to be held at SA / PA restaurants, where we plan to offer delicious and high-quality sweets.
The theme this time is "local production for local consumption sweets". This is a new menu that customers can feel confident about and recommend to customers with the keyword "sweets that are delicious and good for the body," where you can easily taste local vegetables and fruits.
From June 17th to July 3rd, the first screening period will be set, and based on customer support and tasting screening results, six representative menu items will proceed to final selection.
The final selection will be held on July 25th at "Nichiei Cooking College" in Naka-ku, Nagoya City, and we will invite the vegetable sweets specialty store "Patisserie Potager" Kayazawa Yasui to determine the best menu. I will.
Please enjoy the sweets menu prepared by the chef of the restaurant.

The next topic is about holding a customer service contest for about 8,000 staff working in SA / PA.
This customer service contest is the third one this year with the aim of further improving the CS level of SA and PA as a whole.
The theme of this time is "For services with a heart of" invitation "and" hospitality "". From picking up customers to seeing them off in a role-playing format, we compete for customer service skills such as "favorability", "communication ability", and "sales ability" in three departments: food and drink, product sales, and specialty stores. The 28 winners who have passed the preliminary rounds in each region will challenge the final round.
The final round will be held on July 21 at "Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Shirakawa Hall" in Naka-ku, Nagoya City. The judge invited CS expert Kaoru R.B.K. Iijima, Once Around Co., Ltd. Rieko Sato, and former Japan Airlines International flight attendant instructor Mayumi Ataka to serve as a customer service skill number. Decide which Grand Prix will be one.
NEXCO CENTRAL, we aim to exceed the expectations of our customers and reach a level of customer service that will impress them.

The next topic is environmentally friendly efforts.
Since May 2007, we have been planting trees and flowers on the slopes of Expressway with local residents in order to promote "strengthening regional cooperation and contributing to local communities and the economy." We are working on the Highway Midori no Sato Project, which is being planted in Japan.
For the activities of the "Highway Midori no Sato Project", we ask local residents such as residents' associations, schools, companies, etc. to utilize the interchanges and slopes of Expressway to protect trees and flowers. A collaborative project to plant the area and green and / or beautify Expressway and work together with the people of the area to promote the preservation of the global environment and the improvement / maintenance of roadside environments. is.
In the five years since we started the activities, we have carried out activities at a total of 26 locations.
During that time, about 2,300 trees have been planted and about 4,700 m2 of flower beds have been prepared, with a total of about 3,800 local people participating and cooperating.
We will continue to recruit people who can participate and cooperate in this activity, and we will continue to work on strengthening regional cooperation and contributing to the local community and economy.
This concludes our report on our environmentally friendly efforts.

These are the topics we have prepared today.

 

(Moderator)

Now, I would like to answer your questions.

 

（記者）

It seems that there was a last-minute use by the customer on the final day of the temporary freezing of the free social experiment and the abolition of the upper limit discount for holidays.

 

(Chairman and President)

Compared to the same period last year, the traffic volume increased by 30%, and the number of traffic jams was more than tripled. From this, it seems that there was a rush demand on the last day.

 

（記者）

How is the usage status expected during summer vacation, etc. due to the temporary suspension of free social experiments and the abolition of the maximum discount on holidays?

 

(Chairman and President)

Since the holiday upper limit discount has been abolished, I think the traffic volume will decrease. However, we do not think that it will affect our business, so we will proceed with the planned renovation of the service area as planned.

 

（記者）

How do you anticipate the number of vehicles used before and after temporary freezing in the free social experiment section?

 

(Chairman and President)

It is assumed that the number of passing vehicles will decrease to some extent. However, we do not think that it will affect our business because the extension of the free social experiment section is not a large proportion compared to the total extension within our jurisdiction.

 

（記者）　

What was the purpose of making Pecogliano Deli in-house?

 

(Chairman and President)

Our employees, who come in contact with customers who use the Expressway every day, understand the best by listening directly to their requests. In addition, the project was launched with the enthusiastic spirit of “Let's make” from young employees, especially female employees, inside the company.

 

（記者）

When did you start the Pecogliano Deli project?

 

(Employee)

The project chair will answer. Established in April 2009 with 8 people, 12 people currently manage the project. So far, we have been working on various themes, such as making towels and Bimizu for the sacred place version for lovers last March.

 

（記者）

Did you think that the product for young women was a weak point in product sales such as service areas so far?

 

(Chairman and President)

There are many yakitori and hot dogs, but it's hard to find food for women that is a little fashionable, so I decided to try it myself.

 

（記者）

Other transportations such as ferries say that they returned to a sense of fairness due to the termination of the upper limit of 1,000 yen in rural areas and the temporary suspension of free usage. What do you think about that point? Also, what do you think about the government's temporary freeze of free charges?

 

(Chairman and President)

The reason why the government temporarily frozen the free of charge is to support the Great East Japan Earthquake. We believe that the first thing we need to do is support for the recovery and reconstruction of the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Also, regarding the upper limit of 1000 yen in the rural area and the free experiment, I do not know how the evaluation of the experiment will produce results, but users of each transportation system and direct Expressway are used. I would like to pay close attention to the evaluation of the experiment by listening to various people's voices such as those who are involved.

 

（記者）

It is said that Pecogliano Deli has been pre-launched since April 29. What is the meaning of pre-launch and what has been the reaction of customers so far?

 

(Employee)

It was launched in advance on April 29, and we evaluated the reaction and evaluation of customers. Some products sold well or some did not. Based on these reflections, we have made improvements such as changing the product and part of the name, and officially released this time.

 

（記者）

It is said that the company is conducting an in-house investigation of employees' income tax law violations, but it has been six months since the NTA began inspections. Since the company handles public roads, shouldn't the contents of the in-house investigation be published even in the middle?

 

(Chairman and President)

We are very sorry that our employees have been inspected for alleged income tax violations. As you mentioned in the question, about six months have passed since the inspection, and we are still inspecting it. We do not know when the inspection will end. Therefore, it is not time to talk about the contents of the inspection. On the other hand, an investigation committee has been set up in-house to conduct investigations. Even if it is a progress report, it is in the process of inspection, so I think it is not appropriate to talk to you about the contents. I don't think it will take a lot of time to complete the investigation. We would like to talk to you as soon as the survey results are collected.

 

（記者）

Could you tell me what kind of person the lawyer of the investigation committee and the real estate appraiser are like?

 

(Chairman and President)

Even if it is announced, the committee members cannot talk about the survey results, so we will announce it to you as soon as the survey results are properly organized.

 

（記者）

Even though it is a private company, it deals with the public infrastructure of roads. I would like to hear your opinion about what happened to this.

 

(Chairman and President)

As I said, I am very sorry for the fact that our employees have been inspected for alleged income tax violations. I think it is necessary to review the internal discipline and system as soon as the survey results are collected. I would like to reiterate that the contents are in the process of being inspected, so I don't think it is appropriate to talk.

 

（記者）

I think some of Shin-Tomei Expressway will open in 2012, but please tell us about the status of the construction. Is there any chance of early opening?

 

(Chairman and President)

Construction is going well. However, we are currently implementing landslide countermeasures at five locations, and the countermeasures have not been completely completed. By the time the rainy season is over, I think we can talk about when it will be open. Scheduled to open in 2012 is 162km between Gotemba JCT and Mikkabi JCT. The local governor of Shizuoka Prefecture has also strongly requested the early opening of the service. We would like to open it as soon as possible in order to meet the needs of the local people.

 

（記者）

Have you ever heard about the violation of an employee's income tax law from another investigative agency, such as the police or a district prosecutor, about the situation in the company?

 

(Chairman and President)

There is none.

 

(Moderator)

This concludes the regular press conference.