Report Of The Month - Best Annual Reports - e.com ReportWatch

ReportWatch Best Annual Reports

You are here:
ReportWatch
> Best Annual Reports
> Report of the month
> Toshiba

Report of the month

March 2008

Download as PDF
Toshiba Tokyo, Japan Report Facts Company name: TOSHIBA Corporation Fiscal year end: March 31, 2007 Report title: Leading Innovation Chairman: Tadashi Okamura President and CEO: Atsutoshi Nishida Number of books: 2 Report length: 62 +46 pages Auditors: Ernst & Young ShinNihon Design: N/A E-mail: ir@toshiba.co.jp	Report Rating 4/5 (Rating scale below) Profile-Mission (Excerpts, as from the report) Toshiba Group comprised Toshiba Corporation and 519 consolidated subsidiaries and its principal operations (are) in the Digital Products, Electronic Devices, Social Infrastructure and Home Appliances.(MD&A p 1) (Italics are own company’s words) Key Figures Net sales: Yen 7,116 million Operating income: Yen 258,364 million Net profit: Yen 137,429 million Net earnings per share: Yen 42.76 Cash dividends: Yen 11.00 Return on equity: 13.0% Return on assets: 2.6% Debt to equity: 1.0 (times) (Source: figures sourced from the annual report) Some Competitors NEC FUJITSU SONY DELL PANASONIC HITACHI SHARP HEWLETT-PACKARD INTEL SAMSUNG INFINEON

Very good > Thorough review of operations. Market positions shown for each line of business. > Eye-catching high-definition pictures effectively convey the message. This also applies to the stylish Chairman and CEO portraits. Worth noting, because many in this industry (and others) care less and less about showing what they products and technologies are about. > Comprehensive long-term Data Section, including quarterly highlights, detailed Segment Performance, and Long-Term Debt. > Rich in (smart) charts and (intelligible) diagrams.

Good > Strategic options convincingly argued, also through an Interview with the President and a snapshot of the Mid-term Business Plan (see selected page below). > One-page update about Intellectual Property.

Buts > Governance matters manly consist of takeover defensive measures. This is certainly transparent but do not make up for a full report. > Business at a glance comes a bit late to get a full grasp of the scope of businesses. > MD&A short on commentary and not most optimally laid out.

CSR > A substantial separate CSR report that goes beyond the vague principles or hollow statements, addresses most key CSR issues, and is backed with facts and figures. Consider e.g. the Distribution of Economic Value to Stakeholders (p 7), the spread about Results and Targets (pp 21-22), Double Overall Eco-efficiency diagram (p 41), the well-charted Environmental Impacts at a Glance (p 43). Overall readability and chart and diagram legibility are perfectible, though.

How does the company report in key areas? What are the main report pluses and minuses? The Report Scan gives an overview of strengths and weaknesses, and scores each item. Contact e.com@reportwatch.net

Selected Page (p 18 of TOSHIBA Annual Report 2007)	Rating Scale 5 First-Rate 4.5 Excellent 4 Very good 3.5 Sound 3 Average 2.5 Uneven 2 Common 1.5 Substandard 1 Poor 0.5 Uncompetitive The rating is based on ReportWatch internal desk research and does not take into account the independent Rating Panel’s judgment.