Capital Markets Day 2018 – GEA announces mid-term growth targets and confirms dividend policy

In the period from 2018 to 2022, the company expects revenues to rise by a compound annual growth rate of 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent. GEA’s operating EBITDA margin should increase to between 13.5 percent and 15.5 percent until 2022. This planning ignores potential currency effects and hence assumes average 2017 exchange rates. No major future portfolio adjustments are yet reflected in the assumptions. Furthermore, excluding impacts from strategic projects and purchase price allocation, GEA expects for both, operating capex as well as operating depreciation and amortization a ratio of 2 percent of revenue each. The company confirms its general dividend policy for the years ahead with a payout ratio of at least 40 percent to 50 percent, underlining that it aims to maintain its investment grade rating. These mid-term growth prospects are based on the assumption that there will be no major downturn in global economic growth. Moreover, the company assumes that there will be no significant decline in demand in any of its relevant customer industries.