SkiStar updates its financial targets and dividend policy

The mountain tourism company SkiStar AB (publ) has today updated its financial targets and dividend policy. The targets are being updated to reflect SkiStar’s strategic priorities and our aim of becoming the leading holiday organizer for Scandinavia all year round.

Updated mid-term financial targets
SkiStar’s Board of Directors has adopted the following financial targets:

• Growth: Operating income should increase on average by 6 percent annually over this period. This refers to organic growth adjusted for acquisitions and currency effects. An acquired company is classified as an acquisition during the initial twelve-month period after the acquisition date. Only after this period has passed is the company included in the calculation of organic growth.
• Margin: On average, the operating margin should be 18 percent. This updated target takes into account the changes to the accounting practises relating to mediated accommodation revenue that the company implemented in the second quarter of 2020/21. The previous margin target was to exceed 22 percent. The change to the margin target is fully explained by the accounting change. In addition, the company's operations have changed since the previous target was established, primarily in terms of hotel operations having a lower margin than the average.
• Debt structure: Interest-bearing net debt should be less than 2.5 x EBITDA, excluding IFRS 16 effects. Temporary deviations might occur, but must not exceed 2.5x over the period.

A more flexible dividend policy
The Board has further decided upon an updated dividend policy. The target is that 40-60 percent of the year's profit after tax should be distributed to the shareholders. The dividend level proposed by the Board will be adjusted annually, taking into account the company's strategy, financial position, risk level and investment needs.

"SkiStar has made major changes to the business over the past three years. Therefore, we have now updated our financial targets and adapted them to both the strategic and accounting technical changes we have made, so that it is easier to understand SkiStar, as well as making the targets more relevant for us going forward. The updated dividend policy gives us more flexibility to develop SkiStar and thus to create value for our shareholders.", says SkiStar CEO Stefan Sjöstrand.