Presentation Materials

Although operating revenues and operating income for the first nine months dropped to 3,326.8 billion yen (down 1.1% year-on-year) and 587.1 billion yen (down 14.7% year-on-year), respectively, their progress vis-a-vis the revised full-year guidance (announced Oct. 31, 2014) was favorable. Towards the end of the fiscal year, we will ensure thorough risk management in light of the uncertainties arising from factors unique to this fiscal year, e.g., the impact of the new billing plan, etc., to deliver on the 630 billion yen operating income target that we have committed to our shareholders and investors.

Our operational performance, on the other hand, has continued to improve owing to the expanded uptake of the new billing plan and the release of iPhone 6 and the new 2014-15 winter/spring handsets. The number of net additions acquired in the nine months through Dec. 31, 2014 was 2.17 million, recording a significant increase of approximately 3.4-fold compared to the same period of the last fiscal year. Churn rate for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2014 was maintained at a low level of 0.70%. The total number of smartphone users grew steadily to 27.33 million, up 1.2-fold compared to the number as of Dec. 31, 2013.

Our new billing plan continues to enjoy great acceptance from customers, with its total subscriptions reaching 13.54 million as of Dec. 31, 2014, and exceeding 14 million on Jan. 11, 2015. Its negative impact on profits has begun to moderate after hitting a bottom in November 2014, and this trend of improvement is likely to continue going forward.

Meanwhile, we have moved ahead with the speed enhancement of LTE network, completing the roll-out of base station equipment compatible with a maximum downlink speed of 100Mbps or higher in 40,000 sites ahead of the schedule. The total number of the base stations compatible with 100Mbps+ service is expected to reach some 50,000 by March 31, 2015, which is higher than what we had initially planned. In addition, we plan to launch LTE-Advanced service in March 2015, which will enable us to deliver super-high-speed service of up to 225Mbps downlink—the fastest transmission speed in Japan's mobile communications industry.

The combined number of "dmarket" subscriptions topped 10 million on Jan. 11, 2015, and the total amount of transactions on this marketplace grew to 52.8 billion yen, up approximately 30% year-on-year, driven by the expanded usage of "d magazine," "d hits" and "d fashion" services.

We have also made favorable progress on the cost front, already achieving savings of 74 billion yen vis-a-vis our full-year cost reduction target of 105 billion yen. Further, we have steadily executed the share repurchase program, completing the repurchase of shares worth approximately 370 billion yen by Dec. 31, 2014, out of the 500 billion yen authorization approved earlier in the year.

In conjunction with the results presentation, we also unveiled the overview of our new "docomo Hikari" service. The key aims of this new optic-fiber broadband service are (1) provision of both mobile and fixed-line communication services in one-stop, (2) delivery of smart home services, and (3) boosting the competitiveness of our core mobile communications business. We are confident that many customers will appreciate the "affordability," "ease-of-use" and "convenience" of this new service, which is scheduled for launch on March 1, 2015.

The spring peak sales season is about to begin. We will strive toward the achievement of our income guidance uniting the forces of the entire company, and we look forward to the continued support and understanding of our valued shareholders and investors.