Metsä Board to update long-term financial targets and dividend policy
Metsä Board Corporation's Board of Directors has updated the company's long-term financial targets and decided on a new dividend policy. The company aims to continue profitable growth and ensure the efficient use of capital. Metsä Board wants to pay its shareholders a rewarding and steadily increasing dividend.
Metsä Board Corporation Stock Exchange Release 1 June 2017 at 9.30 am EEST
Metsä Board Corporation's Board of Directors has updated the company's long-term financial targets and decided on a new dividend policy. The company aims to continue profitable growth and ensure the efficient use of capital. Metsä Board wants to pay its shareholders a rewarding and steadily increasing dividend.
Metsä Board's target for return on capital employed (ROCE) is at least 12 per cent. According to the company's new target, the ratio of interest-bearing net debt to comparable EBITDA is a maximum of 2.5. This target level gives the company enough flexibility for potential growth investments in the future. The previous target for net gearing (less than 70 per cent) has been abandoned.
Metsä Board is a growth company. The company's goal is that the deliveries of its paperboard products grow faster than the average market growth. Global demand for high-quality paperboard made from fresh fibre is expected to grow by approximately 3–4 per cent a year.
According to the new dividend policy, Metsä Board aims to distribute at least 50 per cent of the result for the financial period as dividend every year.
“We want to success together with our customers and exploit the market's growth potential in full. Improving profitability, more efficient use of capital and increasing shareholder value are at the core of what we do,” says Mika Joukio, CEO of Metsä Board.
Metsä Board's financial targets as of 1 June 2017:
| Indicator | Target | Actual 2016 | Actual 2015 | Actual 2014 |
| Return on capital employed, comparable, % | >12% | 8.1% | 11.3% | 9.1% |
| Net debt / comparable EBITDA | 2.0x1.2x1.8x | |||
| Growth in paperboard deliveries, % | Annual growth in paperboard deliveries exceeds the relevant market growth | 12% | 13% | 10% |
| Distribution of dividend, % | At least 50% of the result for the period | 76% | 44% | 57% |
METSÄ BOARD CORPORATION
More information:
Jussi Noponen, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Katri Sundström, VP, Investor Relations, tel. +358 400 976 333
Metsä Board is a leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards including folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners. Our lightweight paperboards are developed to provide better, safer and more sustainable solutions for consumer goods as well as retail-ready and food service applications. We work together with our customers on a global scale to innovate solutions for better consumer experiences with less environmental impact. The pure fresh fibres Metsä Board uses are a renewable resource, traceable to origin in sustainably managed northern forests.
The global sales network of Metsä Board supports customers worldwide, including brand owners, retailers, converters and merchants. In 2016, the company’s sales totalled EUR 1.7 billion, and it has approximately 2,500 employees. Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.