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Column 11: Regarding Various Ratios Indicating Financial Health -March,2007

The liquidity ratio at manufacturers stands at an average of around 120%-129% at small to medium-sized firms and an average of 130%-139% at large firms, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's basic research on commerce and industry. A company with a liquidity ratio exceeding 900% - like us - can be considered extremely rare. Having an interest-bearing debt ratio of 0% means the only reason to go to the bank is for deposit transactions and to use the safety deposit box. The fixed asset ratio is typically a figure that is comparable to a company's long-term fixed capital spending. (If this is not the case, the company is a money management firm.) Even major, financially sound companies have fixed asset ratios easily exceeding 100%. (A fixed asset ratio exceeding 100% indicates a company that relies on outside capital, in other words, they rely on debts.) In comparison, our fixed asset ratio is effectively zero. This means that we do not require much equipment nor have any fixed assets like our own office buildings or assets saved for investment purposes. Our near 90% capital ratio is clearly very high, considering that the average is 20-29% for small to medium-sized companies and about 40% for large companies.

Even if we were able to boast about our financial health, we may receive a different or harsh evaluation when analyzed from a management perspective. In other words, good indicators of financial soundness are good, but analysts may criticize companies that are too financial sound for being too cautious or for lacking efforts to improve future profit through investments. If we were a publicly listed company and had shareholders, we are sure that they would tell us to "take more risks and make more money," "reduce excessive liquidity on hand and own fixed assets to reduce operating expenses," or "raise the dividend payout ratio if none of the above measures can be taken." This won't happen because we are not listed publicly, our shareholders are our main employees, and even non-shareholder employees are paid salaries much higher than their counterparts in the IT services industry (So the labor distribution rate is high) and the employees' wishes (They want to have job stability and will prioritize safety before seeking higher profits.) The employees' wishes substitute for shareholders' wishes.

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