In a series of major moves, and as as part of its ongoing portfolio optimization strategy, Quad/Graphics plans to divest itself of its book business that has generated annual sales of $200 million (USD). It will also expand its cost reduction-program to achieve $50 million in annual savings, and reset its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share to provide additional financial flexibility to continue to scale its Quad 3.0 Strategy while maintaining a strong long-term balance sheet. Quad/Graphics is a worldwide marketing solutions partner dedicated to creating a better way for its clients through a data-driven, integrated marketing platform. It provides subject expertise in marketing strategy, creative solutions, media solutions and marketing management services. Headquartered in Sussex, Wisconsin, the company has approximately 22,500 employees worldwide working from more than 60 facilities throughout North America, South America and Europe.
“We’re making bold decisions to accelerate our transformation through investments in our business that will drive long-term growth and shareholder value, and provide us with the ability to take advantage of opportunities in the rapidly changing print industry,” said Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President and CEO. “Our Quad 3.0 transformation Strategy is working as evidenced by $125 million of expected organic incremental sales growth in 2019, which helps offset over three percentage points of annual print sales declines. Our Quad 3.0 Strategy is centered on our unique integrated marketing solutions platform that includes customer analytics, campaign strategies, media optimization and global production. These integrated services, supported by an industry-leading manufacturing platform, help clients drive growth by reducing complexity, enhancing efficiencies and improving marketing-spend effectiveness across all channels.
We’ve made the strategic decision to divest our book business, which follows the recent sale of our non-core industrial wood-crating business, Transpak. We’ll continue to optimize our product portfolio for the long-term to advance our Quad 3.0 Transformation Strategy. We’ve also made the decision to further streamline costs through our $50 million cost-reduction program and proactively reset the dividend to provide additional financial flexibility for growth-focused opportunities that address our clients’ evolving needs, and to maintain a strong balance sheet over the long term,” he added.
