GERMANY - The management of Pfleiderer Group made public its business strategy to be achieved by 2021.

The key economic parameters of the international wood-based panel manufacturer’s strategy are: an increase in Group sales of around EUR 930 million (2016) to around EUR 1.2 billion (2021); an EBITDA margin of at least 16 percent of sales in 2021 (2016: 11.8 percent); a low level of debt with net financial debt which is about 1.5 and 2.0 times the EBITDA (2016: 2.21); an equity ratio of more than 30 percent and a dividend of up to 70 percent of the Group's net profit to shareholders.

Tom K. Schäbinger, the recently appointed CEO of the Pfleiderer Group explained, “Pfleiderer's planned sales growth is expected to be consistent with the improvement in profitability. To this end, we will create more capacities for higher-margin value-added products, more targeted processing of our markets and customer groups and investing in new technologies and products. On the other hand, we continue to work hard to increase the efficiency and productivity of the Pfleiderer Group.”

The Pfleiderer strategy envisages investments of an average of around 70 million euros per year, including 20 million euros for maintenance. Strategic projects, such as the new sanding line at the Neumarkt plant or the new paint shop technology at the Leutkirch site, are expected to contribute to the increase in EBITDA and margin.