OSHINO-MURA, Japan, April 28 (Reuters) - The head of Japanese factory robot maker Fanuc Corp said he would address analysts and investors twice a year after avoiding them for years as the once-secretive company slowly opens up to pressure from investors like Daniel Loeb for better governance and shareholder returns.
A day after doubling its planned dividend payout ratio to 60 percent after calls for more returns from Loeb's activist hedge fund Third Point, Fanuc Chief Executive Yoshiharu Inaba reluctantly met over 80 financial analysts and investors on Tuesday at the company's headquarters near Mount Fuji, a two-hour drive from the capital.
"To be honest, talking to everyone here doesn't lead to better sales," Inaba said when asked whether he was open to more regular meetings. The CEO said he believed two such meetings a year would be sufficient.
"I'd rather be meeting customers and winning orders," he said, addressing the first such gathering in four years. While Inaba has occasionally met investors one-on-one, most Japanese companies officially brief analysts once a quarter.
Before Third Point announced it had acquired an unspecified stake in Fanuc in February - a company with good profits, no debt and a growing cash pile - the firm did not have a dedicated investor relations department.
Loeb was not available for comment on Fanuc's increased payout plans.
Investors had previously complained about Fanuc's habit of hoarding cash rather than returning it to shareholders, but broadly tolerated it due to strong earnings. Loeb, however, questioned its "illogical" capital structure, as well as criticising its lack of communication with investors.
"It's not that I don't like all of you," said Inaba. "It's just that my primary responsibility is in improving results."
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)