of energy. Sales have skyrocketed,  aided by the introduction of the eco- point system for housing introduced by  the Japanese government. In April 2010, we launched our own  brand of solar energy generation systems.  With our reliable installation and after-sales  service, we are looking for this to become  one of our more popular home fixtures.  Furthermore, at several of our domestic  factories we have added mega-solar  power generation facilities in an effort to  switch over to clean energy. We are also  working to make our factories greener.  Under the guidance of Dr. Akira Miyawaki,  professor emeritus at Yokohama National  University, we are planting trees in order to  create regional “Forever Forests.” Based on our strategy of effectively  using M&As to expand our business, we  Increasing Profitability are aiming to improve earnings by  exploring ideas for new business models  in Japan and strengthening our business  overseas, particularly in Asian countries. Securing market share is critical to  maintaining earnings given the recent  decline in demand, and M&A activity is  one effective means of doing this. If we  carry out M&As, we want to quickly and  rationally merge the businesses involved  in order to steadily generate earnings.  Also, rather than thinking simply in  terms of individual operating companies  under the Group umbrella, we group  them into five business segments, to  which we allocate management  resources to quickly realize synergies  within the Group as a whole. Based on  this approach, in the year ending March  2011 we are aiming to return to an  operating income ratio of 5% in the  manufacturing business segments. Over the medium term, we want to  raise our operating income ratio to at  least 10%. Our core Metal Building   Material Business and Plumbing Fix- tures Business segments achieved  operating income ratios above 10% in  the past, but this is now difficult as the  business environment has become  increasingly challenging. However, by  streamlining overlapping businesses  and functions and effectively restructur- ing our organization, I think returning to  the previous performance level is well  within our reach. We are aiming to improve earnings by exploring ideas for new business models in  Japan and strengthening our business overseas,  particularly in Asian countries. JS Group Corporation Annual Report 2010 12 Yoichiro Ushioda Chairman and Chief Executive Officer