President Yoshida’s 2022 New Year’s Address (Abridged Version)

Develop by Further Evolving the DNA We Inherit From Our Predecessors

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope that 2022 will be remembered as another year like last year, when our struggles to overcome the challenges of Covid-19 resulted in record-high orders, sales, and profits.

It has been two years since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted. We have achieved amazing results in the global market during this time, despite restrictions on work and business trips. Advantest’s business requires cross-regional teamwork of all employees, and the fact that we have achieved record-high performance for a second straight year, even amid restrictions on face-to-face communication, is a testament to the fact that each group employee has properly fulfilled his or her role and has successfully communicated as necessary.

The human resources development system, organizational management, and global-level corporate culture built up by our predecessors also supported our ability to manage through this emergency. By sharing these values in the form of INTEGRITY and embodying them in teamwork, we were able to make enormous strides. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all of you.

The global economy is recovering from the pandemic, but the impact of the Omicron variant remains uncertain. That said, market forecasters all agree that growth will continue in 2022, so it is clear what we need to do this year. We must not miss this opportunity. I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on future challenges, looking ahead to growth not only in the near term but also in the medium to long term.

1. Put Customers First & Foremost to Secure Number One Market Share

We are now receiving unprecedented levels of orders, but because the global supply system cannot keep up with the growth in demand for semiconductors, we are unfortunately not fulfilling our supply responsibilities sufficiently. We must provide accurate information to our customers and work with them to find solutions. Our customers are also having difficulties, making this a prime opportunity to build relationships of trust. It is important for the entire company to work as one to secure materials and to retain customers.

We also need to share intelligence with our supply chain. But in cases when solutions are simply not forthcoming, the persons responsible should not suffer in silence, but enlist their managers and colleagues and even top management to think of solutions together.

2. Accept the Changes in Society & Our Lives, and Change Ourselves

To further evolve the DNA that we inherited from our predecessors, and make the company stronger, we must transform our business and operations in light of the changes that have overtaken society and people's lives. Tensions between nations, the business impacts of climate change and decarbonization, demands for more sophisticated corporate governance and disclosure of corporate information … our management environment is growing more and more complex. It is also clear that the ongoing digital transformation will significantly transform our lives in the future, so in accordance with our “Quest for the Essence,” as laid out in The Advantest Way, we should continue to question the essence of these changes and select the measures that are most appropriate for Advantest. I would like to boldly implement measures that contribute to both the sustainability of society and the sustainability of Advantest.

3. Technology & Innovation

We are a technology company whose purpose and mission is to enable leading-edge technologies. We have been spending more than 10% of sales on future-oriented R&D expenses for a long time. Advantest is rich in both hardware and software products and resources, as a global company we have diverse human resources, and above all, we have many of the most innovative customers in the world. We are in an excellent position to take on the challenge of coming up with new innovations. Our DNA is to create things that do not yet exist, making Advantest a company uniquely able to bring about new innovations and contribute to society.

4. Workstyles

The results of the global engagement survey we conducted last fall, our first in three years, have improved significantly, and the compliance survey also conducted at that time showed that our organizational culture is sound. However, there is still room for improvement. We will incorporate what we have learned from these surveys into measures for improvement.
With our acquisition of R&D Altanova last year, our overseas employee ratio now approaches 60%. 95% of our sales already come from overseas, and there is an increasing need for us to globally standardize our personnel systems.

However, above all, we want our employees to love Advantest. To that end, we commit to offering various training and education opportunities, and improving our workplaces. Through workstyle reform, let’s all work to create a virtuous cycle of increasing engagement levels, and as a result, improving Advantest’s performance and corporate value.

About Advantest Corporation

Advantest (TSE: 6857) is the leading manufacturer of automatic test and measurement equipment used in the design and production of semiconductors for applications including 5G communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, smart medical devices and more.  Its leading-edge systems and products are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world.  The company also conducts R&D to address emerging testing challenges and applications, produces multi-vision metrology scanning electron microscopes essential to photomask manufacturing, and offers groundbreaking 3D imaging and analysis tools.  Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest is a global company with facilities around the world and an international commitment to sustainable practices and social responsibility.  More information is available at www.advantest.com.