Financial
Financial viability is a key element of sustainability. We are a listed company and we have a fundamental obligation to be profitable. We cannot be sustainable as a business if we are not financially strong and meeting the needs of our shareholders. Continued growth in profits is an important aspiration of our Sustainability 2017 Vision and we have set a target to more than double our earnings per share by 2017.
For us, being more sustainable makes good financial sense. The two major thrusts of our vision are about being more efficient with the resources we use and designing new products that help our customers to be more sustainable. Using less resources as a business will save us money. It will enable us to maintain or improve our margins and allow us to invest more in R&D and infrastructure. Designing innovative new products for our customers will allow us to maintain or strengthen our competitive position in the markets we serve today and benefit from the growth opportunities in emerging markets within the sustainability sector.
In terms of financial performance, 2007/08 was another good year for Johnson Matthey. We continued to build on our strong position in environmental technologies and we are seeing the benefit of the investments made over many years in research and development and in manufacturing facilities to serve growing markets around the world. Johnson Matthey should continue to perform well in 2008/09. Although we are not immune to the effects of a recession, prospects for all our businesses are good, particularly for our Environmental Technologies Division where global concerns about pollution, climate change and making the most efficient use of energy resources will continue to create significant opportunities for growth.
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