Communication with Stakeholders Communication with Stakeholders

Advantest implements the following types of communication with stakeholders.

Dialog with Shareholders and Investors

Shareholdersʼ Meeting

Advantest views the ordinary general meeting of shareholders (which constitutes the company’s highest decision-making body) as also providing an important opportunity for dialog with all of the company’s shareholders. We actively welcome questions from shareholders, and strive to reply to them in a considerate, easy-to-understand manner, endeavoring to help shareholders understand the measures that we implement in order to enhance the company’s value.

At Advantest’s 73rd ordinary general meeting of shareholders, which was held in June 2015, the following seven proposals were all approved as submitted:

• Proposal 1: Partial revision of the company’s Articles of Incorporation.
• Proposal 2: Appointment of six directors (excluding directors serving as Audit & Supervisory Committee Members)
• Proposal 3: Appointment of three directors serving as Audit & Supervisory Committee Members
• Proposal 4: Appointment to fill a vacancy for one director serving as a substitute Audit & Supervisory Committee Members
• Proposal 5: Setting of compensation for directors (excluding directors serving as Audit & Supervisory Committee Members)
• Proposal 6: Setting of compensation for directors serving as Audit & Supervisory Committee Members
• Proposal 7: Setting of stock option related compensation for directors (excluding directors serving as Audit & Supervisory Committee Members)

Question and answer session in
progress at the shareholders meeting

The ordinary general meeting of shareholders was followed by a social event, which combined displays of the company’s products and business development plans with the provision of direct explanations by Advantest directors, in an effort to strengthen dialog with participating shareholders. A total of nine questions were received from shareholders over the course of the day, all of which received replies from the Chairman or from the responsible directors.

IR activities

To fulfill the company’s duty to demonstrate the company’s accountability to shareholders and investors, and to further increase the level of trust placed in the company, Advantest has formulated an IR Basic Policy, and is working to foster more intensive communication with shareholders and investors under the supervision of the responsible director (the CFO).
As regards the overall strategy for IR activities, Advantest discloses important information appropriately in order to ensure fair, thorough disclosure to shareholders and investors both in Japan and overseas. IR activities are implemented through designated IR spokespersons, including the CEO, the CFO, and PR and IR department managers. Great care is taken to ensure that IR spokespersons do not disclose information that has not yet been officially made public to small groups of shareholders or investors, and that there is no disparity between the information provided in dialog with different groups of investors and shareholders.
Besides the disclosure of information on the company’s website, another important IR activity is the quarterly business results briefings, at which senior Advantest managers give presentations. Advantest also holds individual meetings with domestic and overseas institutional investors (with around 300 such meetings being held in fiscal 2015) as well as business presentations, striving to help attendees develop a more in-depth understanding of the business environment within which Advantest operates and of the business strategies adopted by the company.
The useful suggestions that we receive from shareholders and investors in the course of engaging in communication with them are shared with the board of directors, and are utilized to help enhance Advantest realize sustainable growth and increase its corporate value over the medium and long term.

Dialog with Customers

Communicating Information to Customers

In fiscal 2015, Advantest exhibited at SEMICON West (in the U.S.A.) in July 2015, at SEMICON Europa (in Europe) in October 2015, and at SEMICON Japan in December 2015.
At SEMICON West, the main focus of the Advantest booth was on introducing Advantest test solutions developed in response to the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT).
The booth showcased a wide range of Advantest solutions, from the V93000 to the W2BI, a cutting-edge system level test solution for mobile terminal devices.
Advantest also provided support for the SEMICON West keynote address (at which Doug Davis, Senior Executive at Intel, discussed the outlook for the IoT and Moore’s Law) and for Freescale Semiconductor’s “Internet of Tomorrow Truck,” which featured demos of over 120 small electronics products.
Advantest holds special hospitality events every year to accompany SEMICON West. This year’s event was a concert by contemporary violinist Gabi Holrzwarth at the Minna Gallery 111 electronic art gallery and bar, which left the audience entranced.
We plan to exhibit again at SEMICON West in 2016, providing a further opportunity to exchange ideas with our customers.

Dialog with Suppliers

A scene from the QCD Cooperate Forum

To help build harmonious relationships with suppliers, Advantest holds an annual Suppliers New Year Meeting, Suppliers Reception and QCD Cooperate Forum with suppliers. Besides providing an opportunity for the presenting of awards that give recognition to suppliers who have made a particularly valuable contribution to Advantest’s business, these events also provide a forum for the exchange of views between suppliers and Advantest’s Chairman and Directors.

Dialog with Employees

As opportunities for the dissemination of the Chairman’s Message and for dialog with employees, Advantest seeks to engage in communication with employees at the monthly Morning Meetings and Meetings of All Employees which are held at each business location, the New Year Greeting event held in January each year, the Spring Labor Talks which are held each year starting in March, the ceremony to mark the company’s founding which is held in January each year, the Central Labor Negotiations which are held in September each year, and various social events etc.