Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA), a leading global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems, today issued the following statement in response to Marcato Capital Management LLC:
Lear’s Board of Directors and Management team are committed to delivering superior shareholder value and have a proven record of delivering significant value to shareholders:
Since 2011, Lear has returned more than $2.1 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends;
Since 2010, Lear has achieved a total shareholder return of 203%, which is approximately double the return for the S&P 500 over the same time period; and In 2014, Lear’s total shareholder return of 22% outperformed the S&P 500’s return of 14%.
Building sustainable shareholder value is a foremost priority for Lear. Lear’s shareholders have benefitted from the Company’s successful execution of its balanced strategy: investing in the business, pursuing value enhancing acquisitions, maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders. This strategy is delivering consistently improving financial results and driving superior returns for shareholders. 2014 was another excellent year for Lear as the Company achieved its 5th consecutive year of higher sales and adjusted earnings per share and strong cash flow.
Lear’s Board and Management team are open to the views of its shareholders and will review the suggestions submitted by Marcato this morning. We will continue to prioritize delivering significant value to our shareholders and customers.
