FY2016 Earnings Release Conference Q&A

Orders in the January to March quarter were above guidance due in part to orders being brought forward, and SPE orders in the April to June quarter are projected to decline. Regarding the future order outlook, do you believe that orders will peak in the January to March quarter and then bottom out in the July to September quarter like last year? To achieve a year-on-year increase in sales as you mentioned, do you think it will be necessary for orders to increase further going forward?

We think orders will probably show roughly the same trend as last year, but it is difficult to forecast in which quarter and for which applications orders will increase.

Is the company's market share for etch systems likely to rise?

What we are focusing on the most is 3D NAND. Our recognition in South Korea has increased, and the results of POR*1 acquisition, which will lead to higher market share in the future, have emerged. We will continue to make efforts related to the 6X-9X layers.

The company says POR acquisition is progressing in etch, but the number of overall processes is also increasing. Will your POR acquisition lead to an increase in market share in three years?

In the case of etch systems, we are engaged in brushing up our productivity enhancement for HARC*2 processing. We have started to obtain POR in some cases, and we believe that this will lead to a rise in market share in three years. As we have begun to see a rise in market share this year for other strategic systems, we expect sales to increase in FY2017, despite the outlook for a flat WFE market.

How about the profitability of G10.5 investment for FPDs? We hear that the profitability of G10 production lines in the past was low and equipment prices were set at a low level. Will you be able to deal with this issue by making appropriate cost reductions or raising equipment prices?

We are proceeding with business discussions while securing profitability. We have the strength of having accumulated G10 technology, and we expect to be able to engage in discussions from a good position in regard to coater/developer and etch systems. We regard the shift to larger substrates and higher-definition as a business opportunity.

In regard to OLED manufacturing for mobile market, the inkjet method seems to be able to realize only up to 200 ppi and thus lacks an advantage in resolution. What is the reason for focusing your efforts on the inkjet printing system?

We believe that there are business opportunities for inkjet equipment in large-substrate OLEDs for TVs, and we have received positive evaluations from customers.

Are you likely to buy back shares in FY2017 as well?

Our stance of considering flexible actions while taking into account ROE has not changed. We will make an appropriate decision while comprehensively considering growth investment for the future, the company's share price, and macroeconomic trends.

POR (Process of Record): Certification of the adoption of equipment in customers' semiconductor production processes

HARC (High Aspect Ratio Contact) process: Advanced processing technology required for deep hole etching

The above content is a summary of question and answers session.