IR
"Dialogue" is the key to corporate growth. Hosting "IR DAY," an interactive event with investors
June 2, 2024. ASNOVA held its first IR DAY at the Nagoya Stock Exchange. Typically, investor briefings are held to explain the company profile, market environment, performance, growth strategy, etc., and are centered around a presentation from the company side. However, ASNOVA placed emphasis on dialogue with investors and took a format centered on questions and answers.
We will report on what happened on the day.
Text: Sayaka Mitsuda
Photo: Sho Kobayashi
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- Keiji Ueda
- President of ASNOVA Inc. Established the company in December 2013. The company will be listed on the Nagoya Stock Exchange Next Market in April 2022, and on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in December 2023.
- Daisuke Kato
- He is currently the Director, General Manager of Administration Department at ASNOVA Inc. He was appointed in February 2021 and is in charge of administration department, drawing on his extensive experience and wide-ranging knowledge in accounting, finance, general affairs, and human resources.
- Akira Morishita
- ASNOVA Corporation Director, General Manager of Scaffolding Business Unit. Appointed in June 2021, he is in charge of scaffolding business unit based on his extensive experience and broad knowledge of temporary scaffolding rentals and sales.
A refreshing experience for the participants. A lively moment.
About 40 investors gathered at the Nagoya Stock Exchange Hall on the 5th floor of the Nagoya Stock Exchange. First, ASNOVA explained the background to holding this "IR DAY", explaining that the purpose of the event was to have a dialogue to help investors understand ASNOVA.
He then explained that they would continue to hold information sessions for investors, distribute information on social media, and participate in various IR events as before, and that they have started new initiatives such as "QA Station," which allows investors to ask questions of ASNOVA, as well as the company's performance to date, share price trends, and shareholder return policy. The attendees took notes and listened intently.
ASNOVA's opening explanation was about 5 minutes long, and the Q&A session began immediately. Investors asked many questions about ASNOVA's business, such as "What is scaffolding market like in Vietnam?", "What is your strategy for investing in scaffolding during the off-season and peak season?", and "What measures do you take to raise your stock price?" President Ueda answered each question carefully.
We also received questions about the company's culture, such as "What kind of work do ASNOVA employees do on a daily basis?", "What is ASNOVA's position in the scaffolding market?" and "What does ASNOVA focus on in its recruitment activities?" as well as questions about ASNOVA's initiatives, such as "What is an ASNOVA STATION?" and "What kind of work is carried out at equipment center?"
Prior to this "IR DAY", many questions were submitted in advance. During the Q&A session, we answered those questions as we went along.
The Q&A session lasted for over two hours, and investors commented, "I have attended investor briefings by many different companies, but I have never attended one that was so focused on Q&A. It felt very refreshing, and I think it was a good initiative." and "It is rare to see a company that is so proactive in IR activities. I was able to understand a lot and it was a great day. I would like to continue to support them."
Building a company together by directly incorporating investor opinions
After the Q&A session, we asked Mr. Ueda, Mr. Kato, and Mr. Morishita for their honest impressions.
Ueda: We are very grateful to all the investors for taking time out of their busy schedules to come and visit us. We felt that all of the opinions we received today were from people who care about ASNOVA, and we learned a lot from them. We will probably hold the event again next year, so we hope to use this experience to make it an even better "IR DAY."
Ueda: Generally speaking, an initiative like this that focuses on Q&A is considered rare. It was a good decision to hold the event, as it also meant changing the perspective of our IR activities up until now.
It also became clear that there may have been a mismatch between what investors want and the current situation, so we felt that we needed to grow in response to their needs. We hope that you will continue to send us any questions you may have at any time and we will answer them on the "QA Station."
Kato: I was prepared for some tough questions, but I'm glad that we received many favorable questions. I didn't expect to be asked about our employees, but I was glad that everyone was interested in various aspects of ASNOVA. There were many people who didn't ask questions, so I'm a little worried about whether they were satisfied. I'm sorry if it was an atmosphere where it was difficult for people to raise their hands. In the future, I would like to clearly inform people about the parts of our company that are not well known, such as our digital transformation and human resources.
Morishita: I was honestly surprised to see that they had been paying attention to such small details about ASNOVA. I was very surprised that they had been paying attention to things like the credits and update dates of our owned media. They also looked at things in comparison to other companies, which I think was a great insight for us, and I felt the fun of interacting with investors in real life.
Morishita: This was the first time we have undertaken such an initiative, but it was a very meaningful time as we were able to receive many questions for over two hours. We hope to continue to have dialogue with many investors and incorporate their opinions into our investments.
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