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