Hitachi Cable News vol.371
72nd cumulative second quarter business report
From April 1 to September 30, 2008

Note: Under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, Hitachi Cable has adopted a system of reporting results on a quarterly basis. As a result, the period traditionally known as the "interim fiscal period" is now known as the "cumulative second quarter."

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This serial feature introduces product lines identified as core products under the Plan “BEGIN” medium-term management plan. This second part of this serial feature provides an overview of the copper-products business and introduces typical products in this business.

Note: Since we introduced copper strips, part of the Hitachi Cable Group's copper-products operations, in vol. 367 of Hitachi Cable News, published in 2006, copper strips are omitted from this serial feature.

Overview of Plan "BEGIN"

The fundamental policies of the Plan "BEGIN" medium-term management plan (covering the fiscal years 2007 – 2009) are to implement sustained business structural innovations suited to market environments to generate consistent profits in core businesses and to expand business through proactive investment of management resources in three growth areas. Based on these cornerstone policies, the Hitachi Cable Group promotes enhancements in areas including research and development, production technology capabilities, human resource development, and overseas business structures. Through these measures, the Group seeks to establish firm business foundations that prepare the way for further growth in the 2009 fiscal year, the final year of Plan "BEGIN," and subsequent years.