Cummins Inc. is on pace to report a fifth consecutive year of record sales and profits in 2008, and is poised for significant further growth over the next several years, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tim Solso told shareholders May 13 at the company’s annual meeting.
“Our strong financial position today gives us the flexibility to invest in the people, products, facilities and technologies for future growth,” said Solso, speaking to shareholders from the company’s engine plant in Columbus, Ind. Solso discussed the company’s growth targets for 2008: 12 percent sales growth and an earnings-before-interest-and-taxes goal of 10 percent of sales. The company also is targeting a 20 percent return on equity and a 25 percent return on average net assets.
Solso spoke of three broad global trends – increasingly strict emissions standards, the globalization of the world economy and rising demand for energy around the world – that will benefit Cummins over the next several years. “I’m proud of our efforts over the past several years to grow the company and improve our financial structure, which have produced good returns for our shareholders,” Solso said. “That work has positioned us extremely well, and I am more excited about the future of the company than at any time during my 37 years with Cummins.”
In the business portion of the meeting, Cummins shareholders elected nine directors to the board for one-year terms; all the directors currently serve on the board.
