ESG

• The fact that institutional investors consider whether a company has zero female board members when voting has led to decrease in the number of companies with zero female board members.
• Since fewer companies have zero female board members but a minority of companies have at least two female board members, achieving 30% female board members seems somewhat of a hurdle.
• While tenure and concurrent service of female board members are problematic, the starting point is to ensure that women have  a 30% voice on the board and to promote diversity.

• High ratio of female non-regular workers and low ratio of women in management positions are factors behind the gender wage gap. Government expects to correct the gap in individual companies.
• Companies should improve making it easier for employees returning jobs after temporary leave for childcare/childbirth, and treating them in the same position they were before leaving after temporary leave.
• In order for women to have access to higher education and for women to work without leaving the workforce temporarily, the values that endorse gender inequality must be removed.

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess International Container’s ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Environmental, Social and Governance scores. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”. 

• Since Japan’s gender gap index ranks 118th out of 146 countries, stagnating in the lower group, it will take a considerable amount of time to resolve the issue.
• A shortcut to the improvement of women’s status is to greatly improve the gender ratio in the legislature in order to change the current framework for improving women’s status.
• Behind the lagging 103rd place in the ratio of female managers is the lack of progress in higher education for women.

• The dissolution of cross-shareholdings and changing environment in which foreign ownership has risen to 30% have changed the view of activist investors. TSE is one such example of big change.
• It’s convenient that activist investors can use “TSE requested” language that is both easily understood and undeniable by the company when communicating with the portfolio company to improve its issues.
• We must determine whether this is a temporary return to shareholders until the activist investors are removed from the shareholder list, or a shift to value-creating management.

• Competition little work because the portfolio company had advantage over competitors in business. This distorted competitive environment may have prevented the beneficiaries from receiving the benefits they should have received.
• If the business was advanced by competitive advantage through the ownership of shares in the portfolio company, the beneficiaries may not have received the benefits that they should have received.
• The question is whether the life insurers are exercising their voting rights properly for the benefit of the beneficiaries in the shares of client companies they hold.

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess Rino Mastrotto’s ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Environmental and Governance scores, while the Social score is “Strong”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”. 

• Since non-cash expenses are added to net profit for many manufacturing companies, cash on hand will not decrease at all if the dividend policy is based on net profit.
• Using DOE as the basis for dividend policy would help improve ROE because it places certain constraints on the expansion of shareholders’ equity.
• However, the challenge for raising ROE is the strategic allocation of excess cash on hand and cash flow to shareholder returns and growth investments to improve profitability.

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess CMA CGM’s ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Environmental and Governance pillars, while the Social pillar is “Strong”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”. The group notably received a CDP score of A- for 2023.

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess Ardagh’s ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Social and Governance scores, while the Environmental score is “Strong”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Strong”.

The container packaging industry is diverse, with companies such as Ardagh operating across broad substrates and with differing sustainability trajectories. For instance, metal and glass are considered more environmentally friendly than plastic, although the former materials are more energy intensive.

• Now that the defensive wall of cross-shareholdings has been lowered, the strategies of activist investors are beginning to work, as companies are forced to listen to demands of their shareholders.
• Many companies continued to be reappointed at shareholder meetings without fulfilling the role of management in maximizing shareholder interests and carrying out sustainable expansion.
• For faster management improvement, further increasing the sense of tension in management requires the elimination of further cross-shareholdings and a change in the mindset of domestic investors, including individual investors.

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess Ontex’s ESG as “Strong”, in line with its Environmental and Governance scores, while the Social pillar is “Adequate”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Strong”. 

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We view Rolls-Royce’s (RR) ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its “Adequate” Environmental and Social scores. Governance is “Strong”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”.

Notably, RR in 2023 successfully retained its No. 2 position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the aerospace & defence industry.

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess Tullow Oil’s ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Environmental and Social scores, while the Governance pillar is “Strong”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”. 

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess Tereos’ ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Environmental and Governance scores. The company has a “Strong” score for the Social pillar. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”.