"Cnh Industrial it is ready to seize opportunities if they present themselves and they are adequate”. The president announced it Sergio Marchionne speaking at the company's shareholders' meeting in Amsterdam. After his words, this morning the stock of Cnh on the Stock Exchange came to gain more than 2%, in contrast with the market.
“Our balance sheet is healthy – he added –, we have leading industrial positions in many of our business segments and we are ready to take definitive initiatives when the opportunities to expand our business or product portfolio. We have prepared for the change in the business cycle and have adapted our cost structure to the expected conditions. We also know that opportunities emerge during these times and we remain on the lookout for them when value can be created.”
Marchionne then confirmed the industrial targets for 2016: Industrials net revenues between $23 and $24 billion with an industrials operating margin between 5,2 and 5,8%. Net industrial debt is expected to be in the range of $1,5 billion to $1,8 billion with capital expenditures projected to rise in a range of up to 10% over 2015.
2015 was "challenging" for CNH Industrial, which nonetheless defended its profitability and managed to control costs, added Marchionne. The group proposed a dividend of 0,13 euros for each ordinary share in 2015 for a total of 177 million euros and a share repurchase plan of up to 300 million dollars. L'Net income of CNH Industrial fell $460 million to $248 million last year on revenues down 20,4% to $25,91 billion.
For 2016 Marchionne predicts that "the difficulties in the agricultural sector will continue, especially in Latin America, but with improvements for commercial vehicles and construction equipment".
The CNH Industrial shareholders' meeting then approved the 2015 financial statements together with the proposal for a dividend of 0,13 euro per ordinary share (payable on May 3) equal to total dividends of approximately 177 million. The session, which lasted about an hour and a half, saw Sergio Marchionne and Richard J. Tobin as executive directors and Mina Gerowin, Leo W.Houle, Peter Kalantzis, John Lanaway, Guido Tabellini, Jacqueline Tammenoms Bakker and Jacques Theurillat as directors non-executive. As new non-executive directors Suzanne Heywood and Silke Scheiber were elected after that John Elkann and Patrizia Grieco they were not available for a further mandate.
The shareholders also authorized the board to repurchase up to 10 percent of the company's common stock outstanding as of today's date. Green light also for the reduction of outstanding share capital by canceling a maximum number of 80 million special voting shares, an operation to simplify the capital structure”, said chairman Marchionne.
