All in all, 2016 was a good and dynamic year. The growth of Aspo's net sales and operating profit accelerated during the second half of the year. We expect this positive development to continue.
We developed the management of our subsidiaries by strengthening their Boards of Directors. Mikko Laavainen was appointed Managing Director of Leipurin Plc, starting from March 1, 2016, Kauko revised its identity in accordance with its strategy, and Telko invested in its regional strategy and both expanded and grew heavily in eastern markets. ESL Shipping received a decision on an EU funding of at most EUR 5.9 million for energy efficiency and environmental investments in vessels. The company carried out extensive groundwork for the future development of its results. We have announced that our aim is to reach our long-term financial goals by 2020.
Success ultimately depends on the choices we make and the actions we take. A good example of Aspo's choices is our long-term commitment to the development of our operations in the eastern markets. Over the past eight years, our net sales in the eastern markets have increased annually by 17% on average. During each quarter, we have issued reports on profitable operations. During the last quarter of 2016, the eastern markets formed our largest market area, and we produced record-high net sales. Even though we have already succeeded well, we believe that the size of this market area allows us to reach long-term growth, also in the future. According to statistics, the Russian economy is turning towards growth. Our market position is stronger than before the crisis, which helps us to reach our goals.
Being a conglomerate, it is important to see far into the future. We need to have detailed information about different phenomena and make extensive decisions on their significance for us. The Aspo way of doing business via the Boards of Directors of each business in accordance with each period of time has proven itself. The Boards of Directors convene approximately ten times a year. The Boards of Directors aim to identify the significant driving forces that guarantee our success. Our aim is to be the undisputed market leader in our fields. Often, this also means that we need to be the global leader.
One current trend is to distribute dividends in several installments. Aspo's Board of Directors proposes to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting that dividends be paid in two installments, the first installment in April and the second in November 2017. The distribution of dividends in two installments evens out the volatility of the value of our share and balances the cash flow of dividends. We believe that Finnish companies will follow the global trend to distribute dividends in several installments.
Aki Ojanen
February 2017