TOP 2009 First-half Financial Results and Future Business Strategy Contents 2009 First-half Financial Results Future Business Strategy Back Cover We continue to face an extremely difficult climate, with the economy still struggling to recover from a crisis of "once in a century" proportions. The beer and soft drink industry also appears to be entering a crucial period of consolidation and realignment, as signaled by ongoing merger talks between Kirin and Suntory. We intend to respond to these various challenges in a measured fashion by first ensuring that we have a sound foothold from which to develop and exploit our foundations and core strengths. While we recognize that the road ahead may be rocky, we feel confident that a healthy sense of crisis and a planning horizon that extends five or even ten years into the future will enable the Asahi Group to better reward the continued support of our customers, shareholders, business partners, employees, and other stakeholders.