Metso launches new long-term financial targets to drive shareholder value
Metso Corporation's stock exchange release on November 15, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. local time
* Sales growth target remains unchanged at over 10 percent annually (CAGR) * Earnings per share growth is targeted to exceed sales growth * Profitability targets (EBITA-%) set for the business segments * Return on capital employed (ROCE) is targeted to exceed 20 percent Metso's Board of Directors has decided on Metso's new long-term financial targets in relation to Metso's new strategy. "Our target is to create shareholder value through growth and profitability and we will focus on growth in businesses in which we can achieve a strong global position. High share of services is important for our value creation and thus we target high growth in services in all of our businesses," says President and CEO Matti Kähkönen. "Profitability will be measured by earnings per share (EPS) on the group level and by EBITA margins on the segment level. By introducing segment-level profitability targets we aim to increase transparency of Metso's businesses. We think that growth in sales and earnings together with high return on capital employed (ROCE) are the main drivers of our shareholder value going forward. Our record-high order backlog and strong balance sheet provide us with a solid backbone to support the growth," Kähkönen continues The following new financial targets replace the previous targets set in August 2008: Growth Our target for sales growth is unchanged and we target annual average sales growth (CAGR) over 10 percent including acquisitions. We will continue to emphasize growth in the Services business where the target is to reach more than 10 percent growth annually. Profitability Metso will introduce a new group-level profitability target of the annual earnings per share (EPS) growth exceeding the sales growth. The EBITA*-% targets will be set on our segments. The following target ranges are reflecting the different characteristics of our businesses: +-----------------------+----------------+-----------------+ |Segment |Minimum EBITA*-%|Targeted EBITA*-%| | |(low demand) |(high demand) | +-----------------------+----------------+-----------------+ |Mining and Construction| 10% | 15% | +-----------------------+----------------+-----------------+ |Automation | 11% | 16% | +-----------------------+----------------+-----------------+ |Pulp, Paper and Power | 6% | 9% | +-----------------------+----------------+-----------------+ *before non-recurring items. Capital efficiency Return on capital employed (ROCE-%) is one of the key measurements used in Metso and we target a return higher than 20 percent (excl. impact of major acquisitions). Capital structure Our target is to maintain a solid investment grade rating. This target is unchanged. The target for dividend policy remains unchanged as well. Metso's target is to distribute at least 50 percent of annual earnings per share as a dividend or in other forms of capital distribution. Metso is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. We have about 29,000 employees in more than 50 countries. www.metso.com Further information, please contact: Harri Nikunen, CFO, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3010 Juha Rouhiainen, VP, Investor Relations, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3253 Metso Corporation Harri Nikunen CFO Juha Rouhiainen VP, Investor Relations Distribution: NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd Media www.metso.com