Message from the CEO  efficiency through use of external resources.  In terms of optimizing the allocation of resources, we  have implemented measures such as transferring business  in a plant of the Japanese manufacturing subsidiary to an  external company, and outsourcing certain administrative  functions shared by the group to an external specialist  company. As for pursuing operational excellence, at the  start of April 2013, we created the post of Chief Medical  Officer (CMO). The aims are to strengthen global functions  responsible for creating scientifically based drug informa- tion and accurately gathering and supplying safety informa- tion, while also more clearly defining decision-making  authority in this area. In April 2014, we made a number of  functions accountable to the CMO to further ensure the  complete global deployment of product compliance sys- tems and integrate them organically with our global clinical  development functions. This should enable us to ensure  patient safety around the world with more certainty, while  also enabling faster feedback from the healthcare frontline  into drug development. (For more details on operational excellence, please refer to  page 29.) In our forecasts for fiscal 2014 (core basis), we are project- ing increases in both sales and profit, with sales of  ¥1,192.0 billion, up 4.6% year on year and core operating  profit of ¥208.0 billion, an increase of 11.7% year on year. Astellas has advanced to a new growth stage since  fiscal 2010. However, we expect conditions surrounding  the pharmaceutical industry worldwide to become increas- ingly challenging going forward. We will continue to try to   optimize our resource allocation as we target sustained  growth, while ensuring that we seize opportunities pro- vided by new products such as XTANDI and mirabegron,  which we expect to be the next growth drivers. Looking to the future, we aim to generate sustained  growth as a company by working through these initiatives  as a cycle. In doing so, we sincerely hope to meet the  expectations of all of our stakeholders, most notably  patients and their families. We believe that Astellas’ rationale as a company is to  transform scientific progress—namely innovation—into  value that will benefit patients, and to deliver such value to  those patients. Our core mission is to provide innovative,  high-value-added pharmaceuticals to help patients in their  struggle for better health. Fulfilling this mission will ultimately  boost Astellas’ enterprise value. Annual Report 2014 _  Astellas Pharma Inc.  15 In fiscal 2014, we plan to increase the annual dividend  paid by ¥2 after the stock split*, to ¥29 per share. Furthermore, we conducted a ¥30.0 billion share buyback  by acquiring approximately 23 million shares* from May to  June 2014. Guided by this basic policy, in fiscal 2013 we paid  annual dividends of ¥135 per share, up ¥5 from the previ- ous year. In fiscal 2013, we also conducted a ¥30.0 billion  share buyback by acquiring approximately 5 million of our  own shares before the stock split*.  To Our Stakeholders Outlook for Fiscal 2014  * We conducted a stock split of common stock at a ratio of 5 for 1 with an effective date of April 1, 2014. Our basic policy on shareholder returns remains  unchanged. We are working to achieve stable and sus- tained growth, taking into account dividend on equity  attributable to owners of parent (DOE) and other factors in  setting dividends, based on medium- to long-term earnings  growth on a consolidated basis, while prioritizing business  investments to assure future growth. We will also flexibly  implement share buybacks to improve capital efficiency  and boost the level of return to shareholders. Approach to Shareholder Returns