CORRECTING and REPLACING Cummins Poised for Period of Sustained Profitable Growth, Cummins Chairman and CEO Tim Solso Tells Shareholders
-- Shareholders also re-elect Board, overwhelmingly approve executive compensation -- Board declares quarterly dividend of 26.25 cents a share
COLUMBUS, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Second bullet point in subhead of release should read: Board declares quarterly dividend of 26.25 cents a share (sted Board declares quarterly dividend of $26.25 cents a share).
The release reads:
CUMMINS POISED FOR PERIOD OF SUSTAINED PROFITABLE GROWTH, CUMMINS CHAIRMAN AND CEO TIM SOLSO TELLS SHAREHOLDERS
-- Shareholders also re-elect Board, overwhelmingly approve executive compensation -- Board declares quarterly dividend of 26.25 cents a share
Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) expects significant sales and profit growth in 2011 and beyond as it takes advantage of a number of long-term global economic trends and the recovery of key U.S. markets, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tim Solso told shareholders today at the Company's annual meeting.
The Company expects 2011 sales to grow by nearly 30 percent from $13.2 billion in 2010 to $17 billion and Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) to be 14 percent of sales this year - both Company records - Solso said. Cummins earned a record EBIT of $1.7 billion on sales of $13.2 billion in 2010.
The Company also will significantly increase its investment in the business this year, expecting to spend as much as $650 million on capital projects to increase capacity and invest in new technologies and products for the future. In addition, the Company expects its joint ventures to make $300 million in capital investments to expand their businesses.
"The actions we have taken over the past two years have kept Cummins strong during the recession and have set the stage for a period of sustained profitable growth," Solso said. "We have more growth opportunities ahead of us today than at any time in our history.
"Our challenge is to pursue those opportunities with the same discipline we displayed during the recent global recession. I am confident that we have the people and strategies in place to lead us to accelerated growth over the next several years."
Solso also recapped the Company's successful year in 2010, which included strong growth across all of the Company's business segments and in large international markets such as China, India and Brazil. Cummins' record profitability in 2010 came despite weak commercial truck markets in the U.S., which are expected to recover significantly in 2011 and grow further in 2012 and 2013.
"Last year showed, beyond a doubt, that Cummins is more than a North American heavy-duty truck engine maker," Solso said. "Our Engine and Components businesses earned record profits in 2010 despite a sharp decline in our important U.S. markets, and our Power Generation and Distribution businesses performed extremely well as we continued to grow our leadership position in markets around the world."
The Company also continued to return value to its shareholders in 2010. Cummins' stock price appreciated by more than 140 percent in 2010 and the Company increased its dividend by 50 percent. Cummins also repurchased $241 million of its stock in 2010 - in addition to $190 million in repurchases in the first quarter of 2011.
In the business portion of the meeting, Cummins shareholders voted to elect the 10 Cummins directors standing for election to the Board for another year and ratified PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC as the Company's external auditing firm for 2011.
The Board members elected today are:
-- Tim Solso, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cummins Inc. (first elected to the board in 1994) -- Tom Linebarger, President and Chief Operating Officer, Cummins Inc. (2009) -- Robert Bernhard, Vice President for Research, University of Notre Dame (2008) -- Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, Chairman and CEO, Ad Astra Rocket Co. (2009) -- Stephen B. Dobbs, Senior Vice President, Fluor Corp. (2010) -- Robert Herdman, Managing Director, Kalorama Partners LLC (2008) -- Alexis M. Herman, Chairman and CEO, New Ventures Inc. (2001) -- William I. Miller, Chairman and CEO, Irwin Management Corp. (1989) -- Georgia R. Nelson, President and CEO, PTI Resources LLC (2004) -- Carl Ware, Retired Executive Vice President Coca-Cola Co. (2004)
Shareholders also overwhelmingly approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation for Solso and the other the named executives as listed in Cummins' proxy statement, and elected that future advisory votes on executive compensation be held each year. The advisory votes were required under a federal law that took effect this year to require that public companies give shareholders a greater say in executive pay.
In a separate matter, the Cummins Board today approved a quarterly common stock cash dividend of 26.25 cents per share. The dividend is payable on June 1, 2011 to shareholders of record on May 20, 2011.
About Cummins
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA) Cummins employs approximately 40,000 people worldwide and serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 600 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 6,000 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1.0 billion on sales of $13.2 billion in 2010. Press releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com.
Forward-looking disclosure statement
Information provided in this release that is not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the company's expectations, hopes, beliefs and intentions on strategies regarding the future. It is important to note that the company's actual future results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements because of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, general economic, business and financing conditions, labor relations, governmental action, competitor pricing activity, expense volatility and other risks detailed from time to time in Cummins Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Source: Cummins Inc.
Released May 10, 2011