ORIX Issues Annual Report for the Year Ended March 31, 2005.

Tokyo, Japan, Aug 12, 2005 - (JCN Newswire) - ORIX Corporation (TSE:8591; NYSE:IX), a leading integrated financial services group, has issued the 2005 Annual Report, for the year ended March 31, 2005.

In the Report, Yoshihiko Miyauchi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ORIX Corporation, presents "Looking Back on the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2005".

"ORIX Corporation has been able to grow profits in most years since its establishment in 1964. Despite harsh economic conditions for more than a decade since the bursting of the bubble economy in Japan, we were able to strengthen our balance sheet and simultaneously grow our Automobile Operations and Real Estate-Related Finance segments, and other new busi-ness fields. Amid economic recovery during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005 (fiscal 2005), our sustained efforts bore additional fruit in the form of record high profits and other excellent performance figures. At the peak of the bubble economy 15 years ago in fiscal 1990, we generated JPY 19.3 billion in consolidated net income, but our net income grew only about JPY 10.0 billion in the subsequent decade, reaching JPY 30.6 billion in fiscal 2000. During the five years since then, we have greatly accel-erated the rate of growth in net income, which surged by more than JPY 60.0 billion over this period. Our relentless efforts to boost profitability amid a severe operating environment have steadily bolstered our profit base.

Looking at the breakdown of earnings in fiscal 2005, profits were up in all nine business segments. Steady progress was made in the four segments that we view as components of our stable profit base - Corporate Financial Services; Rental Operations; Life Insurance; and Asia, Oceania and Europe - and earnings grew in three segments that have been emphasized as growth fields in recent years - Automobile Operations; Real Estate-Related Finance; and Real Estate. In addition, strong profit growth was recorded in the two remaining segments - Other and The Americas - which we view as new growth areas for the future.

Moreover, ROE rose from 10.10% to 14.17%, and ROA increased from 0.93% to 1.56%. Shareholders' equity surged 29%, to JPY 727.3 billion ($6,773 million), and the shareholders' equity ratio rose to 11.98%. All these movements reflect the further strengthening of ORIX's financial base.

In consideration of such profits and operating conditions, we decided to raise cash dividends to JPY 40 ($0.37) per share, from JPY 25 per share in the previous year, for shareholders of record as of March 31, 2005. However, our basic dividend policy remains unchanged - we aim to distribute stable dividends to shareholders while optimally utilizing retained earnings to sustain growth in ORIX's operations and shareholder value.

While ORIX's performance indicators have risen to record high levels, I certainly do not believe that we should be content with the business foundation we have built up over the last 41 years. Now is the time for us to meet the challenges that must be overcome to reach the next stage of our corporate development and reaching this next stage will require tireless efforts to foster new growth businesses." (Exerpt)

Please read and download the 2005 Annual Report at: http://www.orix.co.jp/grp/ir_e/data/report/ar-05.htm

Copyright [c] 2005 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network K.K.