Toyota 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

3. Stability: Maintaining a solid financial base
We preserve a solid financial base by ensuring sufficient liquidity and stable shareholders’ equity. At the
end of fiscal 2009, liquid assets* were approximately ¥3,300.0 billion, while shareholders’ equity
amounted to ¥10,000.0 billion. Our sound financial position enables us to maintain the levels of capital
expenditures and investment in research and development even under such conditions as rises in prices
of raw materials and drastic changes in foreign exchange rates. And keeping the high credit ratings
enables us to enjoy low-cost and stable funding even during the current credit crunch. In view of
anticipated medium-to-long term growth in automotive markets worldwide, we believe that maintaining
adequate liquidity is essential for the implementation of forward-looking investment to improve
products and develop next-generation technologies, as well as to establish a structure for production
and sales in both the domestic and overseas markets.
* Excluding financial subsidiaries
Dividends and Share Acquisitions
Toyota deems the benefit of its shareholders as one of its priority management policies, and it is
working to implement reforms to establish a corporate structure that can achieve continuous growth in
order to enhance its corporate value. We will strive to continue to pay dividends while giving due
consideration to factors such as business results for each term, investment plans, and our cash reserves.
With respect to the dividends for fiscal 2009, we have determined that since we are facing the most
difficult business environment in our history, it is extremely difficult to maintain the level of dividends
paid in the previous fiscal year. We declared an annual dividend payment of ¥100 per share at the end
of fiscal 2009, which is a decrease of ¥40 from the previous fiscal year.
With respect to the repurchase of our own shares, of the shares authorized at the 104th Ordinary
General Shareholders’ Meeting in 2008, which were the lesser of 30 million shares or the number of
shares equivalent to ¥200 billion in cost of repurchase, 14.01 million shares were repurchased at a total
cost of ¥69.9 billion until the 105th Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting held in June 2009. In fiscal
2009, we repurchased 14.94 million shares at a total cost of ¥72.8 billion. Since we began repurchasing
shares in fiscal 1997, the cumulative number of shares repurchased as of the end of June 2009 was
736.98 million shares at a total cost of ¥2,868.8 billion.
In order to flexibly respond to the changing economic conditions, Toyota will utilize its internal
funds: to secure a solid management foundation; to improve product performance to meet customers’
needs; to further the early commercialization of next-generation technologies in the areas of the
environment, energy, and safety; and to establish a structure for efficient development, production, and
sales in both the domestic and overseas markets. We will not repurchase our own shares for the time
being, as we decided to prioritize securing our cash reserves under the present business environment.
We will decisively strive towards an earlier recovery of our performance in order to meet
shareholders’ expectations.
July 2009
Yoichiro Ichimaru, Executive Vice President
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