Hibiki Path Advisors(“Hibiki”) gave a presentation (link below) and had a discussion on March 17, to/with the management team of Nishimoto Co., Ltd.(“Nishimoto”) on how to present its business in future IR and various IR strategies as a follow-up for our letter sent on February 18. They seemed strongly struck particularly on the large difference in expected growth rates (calculated back from P/E) between Nishimoto (-2.5%) and Kikkoman (+5.2%) which competes head to head as top market share in Asian food distribution business in the U.S(refer to page 2).

Nishimoto management seems to agree that it needs to “improve its valuation” for future Prime market listing by not only expanding its business but also by making continuous comprehensive efforts (e.g. IR and financial strategies) of communicating to the capital market.

Hibiki will continue to hold Nishimoto from long-term perspective as Nishimoto’s valuation P/B 0.68x (as of 15 Apr. 2022) is one of the lowest levels since its IPO and does not reflect its potential growth while Japanese food consumption globally is growing around 4-5% annually. Hibiki will also continue to discuss future measures with the management team and report back to you in our media and will keep carrying out our supportive engagement to Nishimoto!

This document does not constitute an offer, recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any security or enter into any other transaction. Hibiki does not purport to provide any investment, financial, legal or other expert advice or recommendation in this document.

STRATEGIC AND “PROGRESSIVE” IR FOR VALUATION IMPROVEMENT
Investee Introduction (only in Japanese)：Nishimoto（9260）