OMNOVA Solutions Announces Planned Changes in Business Segments During Fiscal 2017

BEACHWOOD, Ohio, Jan. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OMNOVA Solutions Inc. (NYSE: OMN) today announced its intention to establish a new reporting structure with two reporting segments: one focused on OMNOVA's specialty businesses and the second focused on the Company's more mature businesses. The businesses included in the current Performance Chemicals and Engineered Surfaces reporting segments will be folded into the new segments. The Company expects to finalize and begin reporting under the new structure in its fiscal 2017 second quarter. 

"These new segments reflect our strategy to proactively drive profitable growth and continue on our path to a premier, global, innovative, specialty solutions provider," said Anne Noonan, who was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of OMNOVA Solutions on December 1, 2016, the beginning of the Company's 2017 fiscal year.

The specialty segment will include OMNOVA's higher growth business lines. These serve robust markets and applications where specialization is valued and rewarded, with the potential for sustainable operating profit margins in the high teens. This business grouping is likely to include coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (C.A.S.E.), nonwovens, laminates and films, and oil & gas additives.

The second segment will include those businesses that serve more mature markets where OMNOVA has leading positions with established product brands. The primary goal of these businesses will be to continue to grow operating profit, expand margins, increase cash generation, optimize product mix and provide selective innovation to maintain their leading positions. This grouping is likely to include coated fabrics, paper and carpet chemicals, tire cord, and various individual product lines.

Underpinning these changes, the Company is putting in place a "One OMNOVA" support structure focused on functional excellence in areas including marketing, sales, operations, supply chain and technology, as well as the corporate functions. This is designed to reduce complexity and drive consistency across the global enterprise through a standardized, integrated business system. As a result, the Company expects improved speed and agility in serving its target market segments, with enhanced excellence in customer service, supply chain management and global cost competitiveness. These changes are expected to drive significantly improved performance and provide modest cost savings as efficiencies are realized.

Notice on Forward Looking Statements

Statements included in this Press Release that are not historical facts are forward looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the items detailed in risk factors and elsewhere in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2015, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other Company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of such a development worsen), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those forecasted or expected. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About the Company

OMNOVA Solutions Inc. is a global innovator of performance-enhancing chemistries and surfaces used in products for a variety of commercial, industrial and residential applications. As a strategic business-to-business supplier, OMNOVA provides The Science in Better Brands, with emulsion polymers, specialty chemicals, and functional and decorative surfaces that deliver critical performance attributes to top brand-name, end-use products sold around the world. OMNOVA's sales for the last twelve months ended August 31, 2016 were $773 million. The Company has a global workforce of approximately 1,950. Visit OMNOVA Solutions on the internet at www.omnova.com.

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SOURCE OMNOVA Solutions Inc.