MTS Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend Increase and Share Purchase Program

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Aug. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MTS Systems Corporation (NASDAQ: MTSC), a leading global supplier of high performance test systems and position sensors, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, an increase of 20 percent. Additionally, the Board of Directors has authorized the Company to purchase up to $40 million of its common stock in an accelerated share purchase program.

"We are pleased to announce today's actions to enhance shareholder value," said Dr. Jeffrey A. Graves, President and Chief Executive Officer of MTS Systems. "At current stock price levels, the increased dividend represents approximately a 2.4 percent yield. The higher dividend and share buyback are aligned with our capital allocation objectives, which center on investing in business growth to build earnings per share, as well as being able to return excess cash to our shareholders."

The dividend is payable on October 1, 2012, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 10, 2012. This is the Company's 123^rd consecutive quarterly dividend.

MTS Systems plans to purchase approximately 700,000 shares of its outstanding stock under an accelerated share purchase program. The Company anticipates that 80 percent of the share purchases under the program will occur by the end of MTS' current fiscal year. Additional shares may be purchased over the term of the program depending on the average purchase price of the shares. The transactions will be funded from cash on hand.

About MTS Systems Corporation
MTS Systems Corporation is a leading global supplier of high performance test systems and position sensors. The Company's testing hardware and software solutions help customers accelerate and improve their design, development, and manufacturing processes and are used for determining the mechanical behavior of materials, products, and structures. MTS' high-performance position sensors provide controls for a variety of industrial and vehicular applications. MTS had 2,003 employees and revenue of $467 million for the fiscal year ended October 1, 2011. Additional information on MTS can be found on the worldwide web at http://www.mts.com.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results and those presently anticipated or projected. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "projects," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "targets," "anticipates," and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are risks related to: the Company's significant international business; volatility in the global economy; competition; failure to achieve the Company's growth plans for the expansion of its business; difficulties obtaining the services of skilled employees; failure to protect its intellectual property effectively or infringement upon the intellectual property of others; product liability and commercial litigation; difficulty obtaining materials or components for its products; government regulation; the irregularity and development of sales, delivery and acceptance cycle for the Company's products; the Company's customers are in cyclical industries; interest rate fluctuations; the Company may be required to recognize impairment charges for long-lived assets; disruption and costs arising from management transition; an adverse outcome of the ongoing government investigation and proceedings that results in fines, penalties, or an extended suspension or debarment; and increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity resulting from the current investigation. For a more thorough discussion of the risks associated with our business, see the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's most recent SEC Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filings. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE MTS Systems Corporation