Metsä Board renews its dividend policy
Metsä Board Corporation Stock exchange release Other information disclosed according to the rules of the Exchange 24 October 2024 at 9.00 a.m. EET
Metsä Board Corporation's (“Metsä Board”) Board of Directors has decided to renew the company's dividend policy. The new dividend policy supports Metsä Board's strategy to grow in fibre-based packaging materials and renew its industrial operations.
The new dividend policy is: Metsä Board's target is to distribute a dividend of at least half of the result for the financial period over time, taking into account the company's future investment and development needs.
The previous dividend policy was: Metsä Board's target is to distribute a dividend of at least 50% of the result for the financial period.
Metsä Board aims to allocate its capital in a way that best supports value creation in the long term. The company has several planned development investments to improve the competitiveness of existing mills and products, and to support the target of fossil-free production. Dividends will continue to be an essential element of capital allocation. Metsä Board also aims to maintain a strong balance sheet: the ratio of interest-bearing net debt to comparable EBITDA should not exceed 2.5.
Over the past five years (2019-2023), Metsä Board's investments have amounted to approximately EUR 1 billion. Of the net result for the same period, the company has paid dividends and capital repayments of approximately EUR 620 million, which corresponds to approximately 56% of the accumulated net result. At the end of 2023, the ratio of interest-bearing net debt to comparable EBITDA was 0.7.
METSÄ BOARD CORPORATION
Further information:
Henri Sederholm, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Katri Sundström, VP, Investor Relations, tel. +358 10 462 0101
Metsä Board
metsagroup.com/metsaboard
Metsä Board is a producer of lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners. The pure fresh fibres we use in our products are a safe, renewable and recyclable resource, that can be traced back to northern forests. We aim to have completely fossil free mills and raw materials by the end of 2030. We promote a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion.
Metsä Board is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2023 our sales totalled EUR 1.9 billion, and we have around 2,300 employees. Metsä Board is part of Metsä Group, whose parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative is owned by more than 90,000 Finnish forest owners. The sales of the whole Metsä Group were EUR 6.1 billion.