Metsä Board updates its long-term financial targets

Metsä Board Corporation Stock Exchange Release 5 February 2015 at 9 am EET

Metsä Board Corporation, part of Metsä Group, updates its long-term financial targets to better reflect the company’s position as a leading European fresh forest fibre paperboard producer.

The updated long- term financial targets are the following:

- Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) minimum 12 per cent from 2017 onwards

- Net gearing maximum 70 per cent

The previous ROCE target in place until today was set at minimum 10 per cent and the net gearing target at maximum 100 per cent.

 “We launched the final steps of our transformation to a paperboard company on 10 December 2014. We are growing significantly our core business and exiting unprofitable paper production. Thanks to these measures our profitability will be raised to a new improved level during the next couple of years without compromising our solid balance sheet. Our public long-term financial targets are now changed to describe the renewed Metsä Board better,” comments CEO Mika Joukio.  

Metsä Board’s dividend policy remains unchanged. The aim is to pay a dividend of at least 1/3 of the Company's EPS, taking into account the net gearing target.

METSÄ BOARD CORPORATION

For further information, please contact:

Markus Holm, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913                                                                   
Juha Laine, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications, tel. +358 10 465 4335