ISS sets 5% operating margin goal, restarts dividend

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish business services group ISS aims to have 4-6% annual organic growth and an operating margin above 5% from 2024 on, it said on Monday as it unveiled new long-term targets and said it would restart dividend payments.

ISS, which provides services ranging from office cleaning to catering and security for more than 200,000 customers, said it would next year pay a 20% dividend on its adjusted 2022 net profit with the aim to increase the pay-out ratio over time.

It would also consider deploying capital for M&A or share buybacks during 2023, it said in a strategy update.

ISS said it had achieved all targets announced back in 2020, when it launched a turnaround plan to improve its operating margin to above 4% among other things.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Anna Ringstrom and Terje Solsvik)