Hokuryo Co., Ltd.
1384・Standard Market・Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry
Governance
As a company with a Board of Corporate Auditors, the company is composed of 6 directors (2 of whom are outside directors) and 3 corporate auditors (2 of whom are outside auditors). It has established a voluntary Nomination and Compensation Committee (in which outside officers constitute a majority and chair the committee), supplemented by a Compliance Committee, a Crisis Management Committee, and an Internal Audit Office.
Risk Management
The Crisis Management Committee (meeting three times per year) assesses and manages a wide range of risks, while the Compliance Committee (meeting three times per year) reviews legal and regulatory compliance. The company positions prevention of avian influenza infection as its top-priority risk and continues to implement preventive investments such as rebuilding poultry houses. For chicken manure disposal risk, a system has been established whereby each farm reports monthly on inventory and volumes returned to external parties to the division head.
Shareholder Returns
Under a shareholder return policy targeting a payout ratio of around 30%, FY2026 (ending March 2026) will see a dividend of ¥130 per share (total dividends of ¥1,099 million, payout ratio of 28.5%) due to firm egg prices resulting from avian influenza impacts. This represents an increase from the initially planned ¥120. For FY2027 (ending March 2026), a dividend of ¥80 is planned (payout ratio of 29.8%) as earnings are expected to normalize.
Dividend Policy
Taking into comprehensive account business performance and the strengthening of corporate structure, the company aims to enhance shareholder return measures with a payout ratio target of around 30%. The basic policy is to pay a year-end dividend once annually, with internal reserves allocated to effective investments such as strengthening production and manufacturing facilities.
ESG
Positioning 100% return of chicken manure to farmland (including exports of fermented chicken manure pellet fertilizer to Southeast Asia) as its top sustainability priority, the company has already achieved this target at all farms. On the human capital side, it has set indicators such as employee retention rate (62% company-wide, target 90%), training expenses (actual ¥18 thousand, target ¥20 thousand), and employment rate of persons with disabilities (3.68%, target 5%). However, a serious workplace accident (one fatality) occurred in December 2025, making the strengthening of the occupational health and safety system a key challenge.
Last updated: June 26, 2026