Thank you very much for the introduction. Let me explain about the financial results of the fiscal year ending March 2023. I will discuss those five items shown on the slide today. First, on the consolidated financial results of the fiscal year ending March 2023. In fiscal year March 2023, we absorbed the impact of fuel price hikes, among others, and posted record high profits. On the left, the consolidated operating revenue was JPY 5,671.8 billion, up 4.1% year-on-year. Operating income reached JPY 1,075.7 billion, up 1.4% year-on-year. On the right, focus areas including Business Services segment and financial business showed steady growth. Next, let me go over factors for change in operating income. From the left, multi-brand communications ARPU revenues had a negative impact of JPY 85.3 billion. Group MVNO revenues, plus roaming revenue, a negative impact of JPY 27.8 billion.
Cost savings related to 3G closure had a positive impact of JPY 80.3 billion. DX Financial business, a positive impact of JPY 28.9 billion. Others, including cost efficiency, a positive impact of JPY 64.1 billion. Energy business, a negative impact of JPY 8.8 billion. Impact of fuel price hikes had a negative impact of JPY 36.3 billion, which together brought us a full year increase of JPY 15.2 billion. Impacts of price reductions and fuel price hikes were more than offset by strengths in focus areas and efforts to enhance cost efficiency, which resulted in a growth in profits. Next, I will talk about enhancing the power to connect and sustainability management. In May last year, in addition to Mid-Term Management Strategy, we put together and announced KDDI VISION 2030, the creation of a society in which anyone can make their dreams a reality by enhancing the power to connect.
KDDI's mission is to connect. By connecting and enhancing lives, day-to-day lives, and hearts and minds, we will contribute to creation of a society in which anyone can make their dreams a reality. In order to realize KDDI VISION 2030, we'll press ahead with sustainability management by promoting Satellite Growth Strategy designed for business growth and strengthening management. Together with partners, we will aim to achieve sustainable growth of society and corporate value improvement. The core of sustainability management is the power to connect. In the middle of the slide, supporting this power to connect is high quality and resilient 4G and 5G network. By making additional JPY 50 billion investment over the midterm, we will work to provide the network of even higher quality.
On the left is IoT connections, which reached a combined total of 37 million for those in and outside of Japan and are expected to expand to all industries. On the right, with the technical expansion of Starlink in the era of increasingly integrated communications, we will strengthen telecom infrastructure. These initiatives will be further expanded through partnering so that we can contribute to sustainable growth of society. Next, on enhancing power to connect, as shown in the middle, we'll promote Satellite Growth Strategy to provide new values. From the left up, examples include drone supplies delivery at landslide aftermath, smart fisheries using IoT, sub-circuit services to prepare for outages and disasters, and Tokyo Marathon program production utilizing 5G SA. We will continue to enhance power to connect, so as to contribute to the sustainable growth of society through business.
Now I will turn to each of the businesses under Satellite Growth Strategy. First, on the center of the strategy, 5G communications. We will seek to carry out initiatives designed for rebound in communications ARPU revenues. The first one is 5G area construction. We will strengthen the network along customers' lifelines while expanding nationwide coverage. As shown on the left, we will build areas along customers' lifelines. Based on our own survey, we turn out to be number one in terms of the area coverage along railroads and in commercial districts. As of the end of April 2023, our connected areas expanded to include 47 railroad routes and 323 commercial districts. On the right, in terms of the nationwide coverage, we have exceeded 90% in population coverage and expect to increase 5G stations to total about 90,000 at the end of March 2024. Moving on to the communications ARPU and ID.
On the left, you can see multi-brand communications ARPU for fiscal year March 2023 was JPY 3,960, with the number of IDs totaling 31.23 million at the end of March. As indicated on the right, in communications ARPU, unlimited use plan subscriptions increased while there was a rise in UQ mobile composition ratio. As for IDs, there was a strong momentum, especially in UQ mobile, resulting in a number ahead of the forecast made in the beginning of the fiscal year. In addition, customers migrating from UQ mobile to au jumped by about 1.6 times year-on-year. Now on the communications ARPU revenue. On the left, communications ARPU on a multi-brand basis, saw a steady shrink in the year-on-year decline, which would hopefully lead to a rebound in revenue by the end of the first half of fiscal year March 2024.
The keys to the rebound in the communications ARPU revenue are to cultivate rise in data demand and promote au attractiveness and data usage. Next, on initiatives for au. au monthly data usage grew by 26% year-on-year as customers enjoyed various contents using 5G. Accordingly, unlimited usage plan subscribers have also been on the rise. We will continue to promote attractiveness of 5G and unlimited usage plan to aim for further ARPU growth. We will further promote data usage by offering proposals tailored to customer needs. On the left, UQ mobile is also seeing significant growth in data usage. We aim to further increase data usage by offering attractive medium and large capacity plans. On the right, povo's strengths is its ability to offer customers the right Toppings at the right time.
For Generation Z, we proposed unlimited use of SNS data, and for sporting events, we proposed the Toppings of data and video content. In focus areas of DX, Finance and LX, we will leverage synergies with telecommunications to gain a competitive advantage. First, let's look at the business services segment results on the left-hand side. NEXT Core reached the growth in revenue with 17.6% year-on-year and achieved a double-digit year-on-year growth in each area. On the right, operating income has steadily expanded at a CAGR of + 13% over the last five years. Here are the growth strategies of our business services segment. Customer needs vary over time. First, we will propose digital transformation on the right-hand side based on customer needs in the existing telecom business. We will support the short-term challenge of improving business process efficiency with corporate DX, such as managed DX.
In addition, for outsourcing needs such as call centers, at the bottom, we will support them with business infrastructure services in the lower part of the page. By utilizing the data obtained through deep services, we contribute to the transformation of our customers' business models through digital twin and other business DX services. In this way, we will promote the NEXT Core and contribute to solving our customers' issues. Effects of promoting the NEXT Core. On the left-hand side, promoting the NEXT Core will lead to the expansion of business domains and IDs based on the telecom business customer base. On the right, Japanese manufacturer Company A outsources managed operations in addition to using multiple services through various value propositions based on telecommunications. As a result, from 2010 - 2022, the monthly usage fee increased by about 4.5 times.
We will continue to deepen our understanding of our customers and provide communication plus alpha value. Leveraging our strengths, we are expanding our business domain and IDs globally. On the left, the number of IoT lines installed in connected cars exceeded 18 million at the end of March 2023, approximately 6.6 times the number three years ago. We have expanded our offerings to major Japanese auto manufacturers and are developing our business in seven regions around the world. On the right-hand side, we are also aggressively expanding our data centers, leveraging connectivity as a key strength. The successful data centers in London and Paris have been expanded, and the new data center is scheduled to open in Bangkok this May. In the data center business, high value added connectivity data centers are driving growth.
On the left, revenue exceeded JPY 100 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2023, and the operating profit margin is high at more than 20%. On the right-hand side, the source of this high profit margin is high connectivity. By becoming a hub for content and networks, we are building a strong ecosystem that attracts even more users. Next is the digital twin. This is to strengthen the value creation function by leveraging data. On the left, combining human flow data with 3D urban models enables a variety of simulations, contributing to Tokyo's urban development. On the right, to strengthen our data-driven capabilities, we have made FLYWHEEL, which specializes in data engineering, a consolidated subsidiary. The company's abundant human resources and technology will be utilized to solve data analysis issues through high-speed PDCA cycles.
Next is the financial business. We aim to maximize the KDDI group's corporate values through the growth of the financial business. On the left, by embedding finance and making it available to au customers, we will maximize synergies with au, such as value-added ARPU expansion and promotion of long-term use. On the right, au Financial Group will expand its au Economic Zone by offering competitive products, including mortgage loans based on the trust of au brand customers. The operating income and customer base of the au Financial Group are expanding in tandem with synergies with au. On the left, finance-related value-added ARPU revenue has grown 17.7% year-on-year.
On the right-hand side, in addition to the growth in operating income, the customer base is steadily expanding, with the settlement and financial transaction volume at JPY 14.3 trillion, the number of au PAY card members at 8.6 million, and the balance of au Jibun Bank loan products at JPY 2.3 trillion. In LX Life Transformation, we will create a prosperous future society by transforming the value of experience through new technologies. On the left-hand side, Starlink and drones provide a convenient living experience by providing a communication environment in various locations. On the right, αU will provide all-round Web3 domains, such as live streaming, virtual shopping, et cetera, centered on the metaverse. The Satellite Growth Strategy described so far will be further accelerated by using data-driven technology. The first-party data accumulated through 5G communications will be used for marketing.
For individual customers, we will expand the au Economic Zone by improving marketing sophistication. For corporate customers, we will expand the DX business by creating new value with partners. Next, I will explain our efforts for the strengthening of management. First, we will achieve carbon neutrality. On the left, au Renewable Energy launched its business in April. Through a capital and a business alliance with Kyocera, we will accelerate the commercialization of renewable energy power generation. On the right, we will promote our own energy savings measures and switch to renewable energy, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by FY 2030. Next, we will transform ourselves into a human resources-first company. We are promoting a three-part reform of the new human resources system, internal DX, and work style reforms.
These efforts have steadily borne fruit, with the group receiving the highest award from an external evaluation organization in the field of human resources, 6,000 employees completing basic DX skills training, and an improvement in the engagement score. We will continue to promote the three-part reform as a human resources strategy to support the group's sustainable growth. Finally, our consolidated financial forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2024. On the left, for FY ending in March 2024, consolidated operating revenue is projected at JPY 5,800 billion, an increase of 2.3% year-on-year. In the middle, consolidated operating income is targeting at JPY 1,080 billion, or up 0.4% year-on-year. On the right, the business services segment will drive growth, aiming for operating income of JPY 220 billion, up 15.3% year-on-year, or more than 20% of consolidated operating income.
The following are the highlights of the consolidated financial forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2024. The decline in roaming revenue will be offset by a rebound of communications ARPU revenue and growth in focus areas. On the right, positive factors for operating income include multi-brand communications ARPU revenue and growth in DX and financial businesses, which are our focus areas. Negative factors include a decrease in roaming revenue and impact of the temporary accounting effects in the financial business in the fiscal year ended March 2023. The impact of the decline in roaming revenue is expected to ease from the fiscal year ending March 2025. Next is the dividend per share. We focus on DPS growth with sustainable growth. We aim at increasing dividend for the 22nd consecutive year, with DPS of JPY 140 for the year ending March 2024.
Finally, here is today's summary. In FY ending in March 2023, we achieved record-high profit, absorbing the impact of fuel price hikes, et cetera. In fiscal year ending in March 2024, we aim to increase both revenue and profit by rebounding communications ARPU revenue and growing focus areas. About sustainability management, we promote sustainability management and in-house power to connect. In 5G telecommunications, we will promote initiatives to rebound communications ARPU revenues. In focus areas, we will liberate synergies with telecom business to gain a competitive advantage. We will also promote initiatives, including HR, to strengthen management to support sustainable growth. With respect to shareholders' return, we aim at increasing dividend for the 22nd consecutive year, with DPS of JPY 140, or a JPY 5 increase in fiscal year ending March 2024. We have earmarked JPY 300 billion for share buyback.
We will continue to aim for sustainable growth of society and enhancement of corporate value. Thank you.