Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am Michihiro Kitazawa, President. Thank you very much for attending results briefing of Fuji Electric despite your very busy schedule. I truly appreciate it. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your help in the last fiscal year, the fiscal year 2019. The fiscal year 2019 was a year we had never experienced before. The U.S.-China trade war started in early spring, and the Chinese economy became stagnant. When we thought the situation subsided slightly, the COVID-19 outbreak occurred. I never even dreamt that the situation would be so serious. In our business structure, as you know, sales and income tend to increase in February and March, in particular in March. COVID-19 caused postponement or cancellation of capital investments. What surprised me most was that sales of vending machines almost stopped.
It is true there aren't many people outside. There are few people who buy beverages from vending machines. In this way, the issues of the U.S.-China trade war and COVID-19 slowly but surely impacted us more than we thought in the fiscal year 2019. We submitted financial reports to Tokyo Stock Exchange at 3:00. In financial results for the fiscal year 2019, net sales were JPY 900.6 billion. Operating income was JPY 42.5 billion, and net income attributable to owners of parent was JPY 28.8 billion. Both operating income and net income attributable to owners of parent were down approximately 30% year-on-year. To judge these results as president is very difficult. I have mixed feelings.
On the one hand, I have a mind to tell our employees, "You worked hard in such a tough situation." On the other hand, I think we should have managed the situation slightly better. In 2008, when the collapse of Lehman Brothers occurred, Fuji Electric plunged into big losses. Compared to that time, I think earnings structure of Fuji Electric became much stronger during the past 10 years. In the spring wage negotiations this year, we knew our business performance would decline. However, we didn't cut annual income of our employees. We will not cut income for senior staff either, although we treat executives differently. I would like to make sure to protect lives of our employees and their family members, even when business performance fluctuates somewhat. That is still my vision of our company. Under these circumstances, the fiscal year 2020 already started. We already have results for April.
Fortunately, there was almost no year-on-year drop in sales in April on a single month basis. Whether income follows the same trend or not is the biggest issue. We are making lots of capital investments, so I think to secure income will be the biggest point. Although results for the fiscal year 2019 were as I mentioned, we have no intention at all to change plans based on the original Five-Year Medium-Term Management Plan starting in the fiscal year 2019 and concluding in the fiscal year 2023. We are currently accelerating capital investments centering around semiconductors. I am sure IGBT for automobiles will grow. Besides, both sales and income of power electronic systems related businesses increased in April year-on-year. We still have no intention to change our policy to grow significantly power electronic systems and power semiconductors.
As for dividends, although business results declined, we will keep a year-end dividend of JPY 40 per share, which is the same amount as the interim dividend. Annual dividend will be JPY 80 per share. I talked about compensation for employees earlier. Also, for dividends, we would like to pay dividends to shareholders whenever possible, even if business results fluctuate somewhat. As income dropped, dividend payout ratio resulted in close to 40% all of a sudden. We kept saying we would like to secure a payout ratio of 30%. It is now more than 39%. I think it is just temporary. We don't want to cause inconvenience to shareholders due to slight change of income whenever possible. As I mentioned earlier, we are accelerating capital investments. There are uncertainties about the current business performance. When we look at results for April, results in Japan dropped, and results overseas increased.
The big reason is that the economy in China clearly started to recover. The drop in Japan was offset by the increase overseas. Consequently, results were almost flat year-on-year. Frankly speaking, we cannot forecast how the trend will be towards June or September. We normally announce forecasts at this time when we announce results of the previous fiscal year. However, we have not yet determined the forecast for the fiscal year 2020. As far as I can tell, we will be able to announce a forecast for this fiscal year around the end of October, after looking at business results for the first half and market conditions around September, and in consideration of plans for the second half. As for COVID-19, the state of emergency was lifted tentatively. It is said the second or the third waves will come. When that happens, there may be another lockdown.
To that extent, visibility for what will happen is low. Having said that, I intend to announce business forecast for this fiscal year with responsibility in October. I hope you could give us a little more time. Today, seven people, including myself, are here. Mr. Arai, Senior Managing Executive Officer, will report on business results, and all the five corporate general managers are also present. As there are lots of uncertainties in this era and in this current situation, I suppose you have many questions to ask. As all corporate general managers are ready, please feel free to ask whatever questions you have. We will answer all the questions to the extent we can. The fiscal year 2020 will be another long year. I think many things will happen. I would appreciate your continued support for this fiscal year. That concludes my opening remark.
I am Junichi Arai, Senior Managing Executive Officer. I will explain consolidated financial results for the fiscal year 2019. As President mentioned in the beginning, in the fiscal year 2019, market conditions were very challenging, partly due to the U.S.-China trade war and the impact of COVID-19 in the fourth quarter. As a result, sales and income were down year-on-year unfortunately. Net sales were JPY 900.6 billion, down JPY 14.3 billion year-on-year. Out of that, reduction of JPY 6.4 billion was due to loss on translation of earnings of overseas subsidiaries due to the appreciation of the yen. That means net sales were down JPY 7.9 billion in real- terms. Operating income was JPY 42.5 billion, down JPY 17.5 billion year-on-year. I will give you the details on the next page. Operating margin was 4.7%, down 1.8 percentage points year-on-year.
As for non-operating income and expenses, -JPY 1.4 billion was due to foreign exchange loss. Mainly due to that, non-operating items deteriorated by JPY 1.5 billion. As a result, ordinary income was JPY 44.5 billion, down JPY 19 billion year-on-year. As for extraordinary income and loss, there was JPY 1.3 billion of gain on reversal of foreign currency translation adjustments due to subsidiary liquidation in the fiscal year 2018. In addition, loss on valuation of investment securities increased in the fiscal year 2019. There are such negative factors. On the other hand, impairment loss was zero. Gain on sales of investment securities increased. As a result, extraordinary income net of extraordinary loss was -JPY 700 million, an improvement of JPY 500 million year-on-year. Net income attributable to owners of parent was JPY 28.8 billion, down JPY 11.5 billion year-on-year.
For [levelands], net sales were down 2% year-on-year. Operating income and net income attributable to owners of parent were down 29% respectively. This page shows breakdown of reduction in operating income of JPY 17.5 billion from JPY 60 billion to JPY 42.5 billion. The biggest factor is decrease in sales and production volumes. To say nothing of decrease in net sales, the impact of production volumes of major components were significant in particular. Decrease in sales and production volumes pushed down operating income by JPY 8.3 billion. As for increase in fixed cost, labor cost increased JPY 1.2 billion. R&D increased JPY 800 million. Depreciation and leases paid increased JPY 1.8 billion. For labor cost, there was partial cancellation of retirement benefit trust in the fiscal year 2018. That is why labor cost increased year-on-year. R&D increased JPY 800 million.
Depreciation and leases paid increased as we made active investments in semiconductors. As a result, increasing fixed costs pushed down operating income by JPY 3.8 billion. Exchange rate effect was -JPY 2.5 billion due to the appreciation of the yen. -JPY 2.9 billion from others was mainly due to product defect related expenses of semiconductors and ED&C components. In total, operating income was JPY 42.5 billion, down JPY 17.5 billion year-on-year. This page shows year-on-year comparison of net sales and operating income by segment. Net sales of electronic devices increased slightly and net sales of power generation increased. Net sales of all other segments decreased, unfortunately. Operating income of all of the five segments decreased year-on-year. Now I will look at results by segment. In Power Electronic Systems Energy, net sales were JPY 218 billion, down JPY 6.1 billion year-on-year.
Operating income was 12.3 billion JPY, down 4.5 billion JPY year-on-year. There are three businesses in this segment, including Energy Management, Power Supply and Facility Systems, and ED&C components. In the Energy Management business, net sales and operating results decreased due to lower demand for smart meters and a rebound from large-scale projects undertaken overseas during the previous fiscal year. In a Power Supply and Facility Systems business, net sales and operating results increased due to very strong performance of switchgear and control gear operations of F-SMBE we acquired some years ago, despite the absence of large-scale orders recorded in the previous fiscal year in Japan. The ED&C components business was significantly impacted by market conditions. Net sales decreased due to reduced demand from machine manufacturers. Operating results decreased following lower demand and higher expenses incurred as a result of product defects.
In power electronic systems industry, net sales were JPY 317.5 billion, down JPY 5 billion year-on-year. Operating income was JPY 16.5 billion, down JPY 2.9 billion year-on-year. -JPY 700 million of exchange rate effect is included in -JPY 2.9 billion. There are four businesses in this segment. In the Automation Systems business, due to the trade friction between the United States and China and others, demand was lower for major components such as low voltage inverters and factory automation components. Besides, operations were ceased at bases in China and lower demand was seen by bases in Asia, Europe and the United States due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which started in the fourth quarter. As a result, net sales and operating results decreased significantly in this business.
In a Social Solutions business, net sales decreased due to the absence of large-scale orders for electrical equipment for rail cars recorded in the previous fiscal year. Operating results increased slightly as a result of the benefits of cost reductions. In the Equipment Construction business, net sales decreased due to the absence of large-scale orders recorded in the previous fiscal year. Operating results increased because of benefits of cost reduction efforts and others. In the IT Solutions business, net sales and operating results increased because of a rise in large-scale orders in the private sector and the academic sector, including schools. In electronic devices, net sales were JPY 137.4 billion, up JPY 100 million. Operating income was JPY 9.7 billion, down JPY 5.9 billion year-on-year. The decrease includes exchange rate effect of -JPY 1.5 billion.
For semiconductors, demand and sales for automotive power semiconductors continued to increase. Demand in the industrial field was lower due to the trade friction between the United States and China and the global COVID-19 pandemic. Depreciation and leases paid increased because of investments for bolstering capacity. There was also negative foreign exchange influences of JPY 1 billion and several hundred million yen. Due to increased product repair costs, operating results decreased substantially. For reference, breakdown of sales between semiconductors and magnetic disks is shown. Sales of magnetic disks increased slightly, fortunately. For magnetic disks, net sales and operating results increased year-on-year. Distribution of semiconductor sales by field is indicated. In the fiscal year 2018, industrial field accounted for about 70% and automobiles accounted for about 30%. In the fiscal year 2019, industrial field accounted for about 65% and automobiles accounted for 35%.
Sales of semiconductors for automobiles are increasing. In food and beverage distribution, net sales were JPY 104.4 billion, down JPY 9.2 billion year-on-year, and operating income was JPY 3.8 billion, down JPY 1.9 billion year-on-year. This segment was significantly impacted by reduced demand in the Japanese and Chinese markets and the global COVID-19 pandemic, which started in the fourth quarter in particular. The Vending Machines business was also impacted by those. As a result, net sales and operating results decreased. In the Store Distribution business, net sales decreased following lower demand for store equipment for convenience stores, but operating results increased slightly. Lastly, in Power Generation, net sales were JPY 109.9 billion, up JPY 2.9 billion. Operating income was JPY 2.3 billion, down JPY 2.5 billion year-on-year. Net sales increased due to sales recognition of large-scale thermal power generation system projects, which offset the decline in large-scale solar power generation system projects.
Unfortunately, operating results decreased because of disparities in profitability between projects and increased expenses associated with a large-scale overseas project. This page shows net sales by Japan and overseas area. Net sales decreased JPY 14.3 billion in total. Overseas sales decreased JPY 11.5 billion, and sales in Japan decreased JPY 2.8 billion. Ratio of overseas sales was flat at 25% as a total. By area, decrease in net sales in China was overwhelming. Sales mainly of components of vending machines, semiconductors, and factory automation components decreased significantly. In Asia and others, sales of components decreased. As I said earlier, sales of switchgear and control gear operations in power supply and facility systems increased considerably. Net sales in Asia and others increased JPY 2.9 billion in total year- on- year. In Europe, net sales increased JPY 2.5 billion due to strong performance of semiconductors.
This page shows year-on-year comparison of net sales by products. Net sales decreased JPY 14.3 billion in total. Net sales of major components decreased JPY 22.7 billion. On the other hand, net sales of plant systems and others increased JPY 8.4 billion. Major components include vending machines, semiconductors, factory automation, and ED&C components. Factory automation includes low voltage inverters, motors, factory automation components, and measuring instruments. Vending machines decreased significantly. Sales of semiconductors decreased 1% year-on-year. Sales for industrial field decreased. Sales for automobiles increased. I think we can say net sales decreased only by 1.6% in total. This page shows year-on-year comparison of amount of orders received. The amount of orders received was JPY 901.1 billion, down JPY 25.6 billion year-on-year. Orders of major components decreased JPY 14.3 billion, and orders of plant systems and others decreased JPY 11.3 billion.
As for plant systems, large-scale projects were delayed due to the impacts of COVID-19 in the fourth quarter. In orders for major components, there are both ups and downs. Decrease of vending machines was 11%. Factory automation and ED&C components also decreased. On the other hand, orders for semiconductors increased 5% year- on- year, mainly due to growth of orders for automobiles. This page shows results for the fiscal year 2019 in comparison with forecasts announced on January 30th. The forecasts are kept unchanged from the forecast announced in October last year. Net sales forecast we announced was JPY 915 billion and operating income forecast was JPY 50 billion. In comparison, net sales were JPY 14.4 billion lower than forecast. Operating income was JPY 7.5 billion lower than forecast. Net income attributable to owners of parent was JPY 4.2 billion lower.
We estimated the impacts of COVID-19 included in the results with persons in charge of business groups. The negative impacts of COVID-19 on net sales was slightly higher than JPY 18 billion and slightly higher than JPY 5 billion on operating income. As for sales, power electronic systems industry, food and beverage distribution, and semiconductors were impacted by COVID-19. For operating income, power electronic systems industry, food and beverage distribution, and semiconductors were impacted significantly by COVID-19. Comments on changes of operating income are described. As for decrease in sales and production volumes, decrease in production volumes of components were significant. Decrease in sales and production volumes pushed down operating income by JPY 8 billion. Decrease in fixed costs was a positive factor. We reduced costs as much as possible, including labor cost, depreciation and leases paid, R&D, and controllable costs. Reduction in fixed costs was JPY 4.9 billion.
- JPY 4.9 billion was from others. Product defect-related expenses for semiconductors and ED&C components and increased expenses associated with a large-scale overseas project are included in - JPY 4.9 billion. By segment, decrease in sales and income of power electronic systems industry was significant due to decrease of components. In electronics devices, although sales increased, income decreased. Net sales increased as net sales and operating results of magnetic disks increased and semiconductors for automobiles increased. Income was impacted by exchange rate effect and extraordinary loss I mentioned earlier. In food and beverage distribution, sales and income decreased mainly due to factors related to China. In power generation, sales decreased due to delays of large-scale projects. Operating income decreased JPY 2 billion, partially due to increase in costs. Let me move on to balance sheet. There are characteristics in the balance sheet this time.
In fixed assets, tangible fixed assets increased due to investment in semiconductors. Intangible fixed assets also increased. That was due to M&A in India. In current assets, cash and time deposits increased JPY 34.8 billion or almost doubled year- on- year. We increased cash and deposit for disaster response purposes in response to COVID-19. As a result, interest-bearing debts increased JPY 63.4 billion. In net assets, we increased retained earnings by JPY 17.4 billion. Consequently, total assets stood at JPY 996.8 billion, up JPY 44.2 billion. ROA was 3%. ROE was 8% partially due to increase in net assets. Net interest-bearing debt amounted to JPY 153.6 billion, up JPY 28.8 billion. Net DE ratio was 0.4x . Equity ratio was 36.7%. Next, I will talk about cash flows. Net cash provided by operating activities was JPY 46.1 billion. Net cash used in investing activities was JPY 27.6 billion.
This was primarily related to increase in production facilities of semiconductors. Free cash flow was JPY 18.5 billion, down JPY 15 billion year-on-year. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to JPY 63.7 billion, which was an increase of JPY 34.6 billion, as I mentioned earlier. Let me move on to dividends. As President Mr. Kitazawa discussed, we plan to pay year-end dividend of JPY 40 per share, which is flat year-on-year. Year-end dividend will be the same amount as interim dividend. We made a decision on dividend in this way. Net income attributable to owners of parent exceeded JPY 28 billion. Distributable amount was kept at JPY 100 billion level. Our financial position became stronger and is steadily improving. We would like to pay stable and continuous dividends to shareholders from a medium- to long-term perspective.
We decided to pay the same amount of dividend per share as the previous year. We have been aiming at dividend payout ratio of 30%. The ratio resulted in 39.7% this time. For reference, we added a table showing cash position. The blue bars show net interest-bearing debt. The red bars show cash and cash equivalents. The line graph in green shows net DE ratio. From the end of the fiscal year 2019, we increased cash and cash equivalents by JPY 126.1 billion. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to JPY 189.8 billion at the end of April 2020. On the other hand, net interest-bearing debts decreased to JPY 133.7 billion. Net DE ratio was flat at 0.4 x. We don't know how COVID-19 will play out going forward. We intend to increase cash and deposits sufficiently to safeguard against the second and the third waves.
For financing, we mainly issue commercial paper. We have been able to raise funds at very low interest rates. We recognize the impacts on income statement is very minor. As reference material, year-on-year comparison of results for the fourth quarter is shown. Net sales decreased JPY 3.8 billion. Operating income decreased JPY 9.8 billion. Net income attributable to owners of parent decreased JPY 5.4 billion. Results were unfortunate. We recognize that was due to the significant impacts of COVID-19. Negative impacts on net sales of power electronic systems energy and food and beverage distribution were significant. As for operating income, electronic devices, power electronic systems, and food and beverage distribution were impacted by COVID-19. We also added supplementary materials regarding low voltage inverters, amount of orders received, and semiconductors amount of orders received. Quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year comparison for the fourth quarter are indicated. That concludes my presentation.