Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the 2026 Minerals Technologies annual meeting. I will now turn the meeting over to Tim Jordan, secretary of the company. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Regina, and good morning. Welcome to the virtual webcast of the 2026 Minerals Technologies annual meeting. I am Tim Jordan, the secretary of the company, and I will act as secretary of the meeting. It is now 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time, and I would like to call the meeting to order. This meeting is held pursuant to a printed notice mailed on or about April 2nd, 2026 to each stockholder of record as of the close of business on March 24th, 2026, each of whom is entitled to vote. All documents concerning the call and notice of the meeting will be filed with the records of the meeting.
The polls are open. There are three items upon which stockholders will be asked to vote at this year's meeting. If you would like to vote on any or all of the items at today's meeting, either because you haven't previously voted by proxy or if you previously sent your proxy to us but you would now like to change your vote, you may do so on the webcast screen. The polls will remain open until the conclusion of the meeting's formal business. In addition to the items for stockholder consideration, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Doug Dietrich, will provide some remarks about MTI.
These remarks may include forward-looking statements about our expectations or predictions about the future. Accordingly, I need to remind you that on page 11 of our 2025 annual report on Form 10-K and in our most recent 10-Q and other SEC filings, we list certain risk factors that may cause future results to differ materially from what is said here today. Statements related to future performance by Mr. Dietrich and other members of our management team are subject to those factors.
Let me review some housekeeping items with you. The rules of conduct and procedures may be accessed under Meeting Materials on the webcast screen. Stockholders may submit questions during the meeting in the questions area on the webcast screen. These questions will not be visible to other participants. Let me introduce you to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Minerals Technologies, Doug Dietrich, who will chair the meeting.
Good morning, stockholders and guests. Let me officially welcome you to the 34th annual meeting of Minerals Technologies. The program for today consists of the election of directors, the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the company's independent auditors for the 2026 fiscal year, and an advisory vote on executive compensation. After the voting has been completed, I'll update you about MTI. Let me now introduce our directors who are joining us on this webcast.
They are Mr. Joseph Breunig, president of OrthoLite Cirql LLC; Mr. John Carmola, former segment president at Goodrich Corporation; Dr. Robert L. Clark, lead independent director of Minerals Technologies and former provost and senior vice president for research at the University of Rochester; Dr. Kristina Johnson, a managing partnr of Catalyzer Venture Capital; Mr. Rocky Motwani, chief executive officer of Cyphlens; Ms. Carolyn Pittman, former senior vice president and chief accounting officer of Maxar Technologies; and Mr. Marc E. Robinson, former global president, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and former company group chairman, Johnson & Johnson.
I'd now like to introduce the members of our leadership council. Mr. Erik C. Aldag, senior vice president, finance and treasury, and chief financial officer. Ms. Erin Cutler, vice president, human resources. Mr. Timothy Jordan, vice president, general counsel, secretary, and chief compliance officer. Representing our two segments, Mr. Brett Argirakis, Group President, Engineered Solutions, and Mr. D.J. Monagle, Group President, Consumer & Specialties. Our Secretary, Tim Jordan, will provide some formal matters and introduce the resolutions to be voted on at the meeting.
Mr. Damian Rodriguez of American Election Services, LLC will be our inspector of election this year. I have available the inspector's oath and direct that it be filed with the records of this meeting. The record date established by the board of directors for this annual meeting was March 24th, 2026. As of the record date, there were 31,027,504 issued and outstanding shares of common stock of the company. Each share of common stock is entitled to one vote. For a quorum to be present a majority of the shares entitled to vote must be present at the meeting.
We are informed by our inspector that a quorum is deemed present for purposes of conducting the business of the meeting. The first item of business to come before this meeting is the election of directors. As you know, our company has a classified board. This year, we have two nominees for election, Dr. Kristina Johnson and Mr. Joseph Breunig, both of whom are currently members of the board. This nomination is for a three-year term expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders in 2029 or until the election and qualification of their successors.
As to the election of directors, your board of directors unanimously recommends the election of Dr. Kristina Johnson and Mr. Joseph Breunig. The next item to be voted upon is the proposed ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the company's independent auditors for the year 2026. Subject to the approval of stockholders, KPMG has been appointed as our independent auditors by the audit committee of the board of directors. Two representatives from KPMG are joining us virtually today, Mr. Jeffrey Knight and Mr. David Schnepp. The following resolution is presented for approval.
Resolved, that the holders of common stock of Minerals Technologies Inc. hereby ratify the appointment by the audit committee of the board of directors of the company of KPMG LLP as independent auditors for the company for the year 2026. Your board of directors unanimously recommends approval of this resolution. Final item to be voted upon is an advisory vote on executive compensation. The following resolution is presented for approval.
Resolved, That stockholders of the company approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers in 2025, as disclosed in the company's proxy statement for the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which disclosure includes the compensation discussion and analysis, the compensation tables, and any related tables and disclosure. Your board of directors unanimously recommends approval of this resolution. That concludes the matters to be voted on. I declare the polls officially closed at 9:07 A.M., May 20th, 2026. Now I will hand the meeting back to Doug Dietrich for some remarks about MTI.
Thanks, Tim. While the ballots are being counted, I'll make some comments about MTI and explain how our organizational structure, business model, and growth strategies set us up for continued success. I'll also give a summary of our 2025 performance. Minerals Technologies is a global specialty minerals company. We're the world's largest producer of a mineral called bentonite and a leading producer of calcium carbonate, which is derived from limestone. Our products are an essential part of everyday life for millions of people around the world.
In 2025, we generated net sales of $2.1 billion. We have about 4,000 employees in 34 countries and operate 12 R&D centers in strategic locations around the world. What are some of our key differentiators. First, we have number one positions across all of our product lines. We create value for our customers by sourcing our unique raw materials at our mines, putting them through technological processes at our manufacturing facilities, and then selling and distributing them into a wide range of end markets.
Second, we have a balanced portfolio of consumer and industrial businesses, with each segment contributing to approximately 50% of our sales. Third, our minerals are essential across all of our end markets and have increasing applications in markets that are aligned with macro and sustainable trends. As I mentioned, we have a strong, balanced portfolio across both of our segments. First of these is the Consumer & Specialties segment, which offers products intended for consumer and industrial consumption.
This segment has two product lines, Household & Personal Care and Specialty Additives. Our second segment is Engineered Solutions, which provides technologies and solutions that improve our customers' manufacturing processes and projects. This segment's two product lines are High-Temperature Technologies and Environmental & Infrastructure. Let me briefly review our performance in 2025. As I mentioned, our sales were $2.1 billion globally. We had an operating income of $287 million, operating margin of 13.9%, and earnings per share of $5.52, all excluding special items.
Throughout the year, we made several well-timed strategic investments, which we expect to lead to $100 million in annualized sales growth. In the Consumer & Specialties segment, these investments included upgrades to several of our cat litter facilities in North America and Asia, an expansion of our natural oil purification facility in Turkey to support the increasing demand for sustainable aviation fuel, and the ramp-up of several new satellites in our paper and packaging business.
In the Engineered Solutions segment, these investments included several new installations of our Minscan product in customer steel mills and expanded implementations of our FLUORO-SORB PFAS remediation product. Other 2025 highlights include that our revenue from new products reached 19%, the highest level in company history, and a testament to the effectiveness of our innovation pipeline. We have a disciplined capital allocation strategy, and in 2025, returned $73 million to our shareholders. We also continued to maintain a strong balance sheet.
We also had a record safety performance, with 90% of our sites operating injury-free and a world-class reportable injury rate of 0.54. On the operational excellence front in 2025, our teams around the world conducted over 8,500 problem-solving events called Kaizens. We also received over 60,000 employee suggestions on how to improve our processes, and we implemented 79% of these suggestions. This level of problem-solving and employee engagement is another facet of MTI that sets us apart from other companies, and it's a fundamental element of our stable performance.
Across our product lines, we utilize what we call our four core technologies. We apply these technologies to our deep mineral reserves, which are distributed around the world and will last us for another 70 years or more. We are truly mine to market in all geographies in which we operate, and our sales teams are distributed right alongside our manufacturing centers. This means that no matter where our customers are located, we can meet them with a deep understanding of their region and unique needs. We are also a very technology-forward company where innovation is a key lever of our growth and targeted at capturing opportunities from secular and sustainable trends.
We are guided by three strategic growth initiatives. First, expansion into higher growth consumer-oriented markets. Second, deepening our positions in our core markets and geographies. Third, continually focusing on new products and solutions. These initiatives, along with the strength of our core business and strong cash flow, will generate a stable growth trajectory for the company and allow us to continue to invest in organic and inorganic growth opportunities. In summary, our market position's differentiated technologies, financial stability, and deep, globally distributed mineral reserves set MTI apart.
This combination is a powerful formula that will continue to drive long-term value for our shareholders. I want to thank our employees for their engagement and commitment to MTI. I also want to thank our shareholders for your ongoing support. Let me return the meeting to Tim Jordan to share the balloting results. Tim?
The Inspector of Elections has completed the tabulation of ballots and issued a report of the results of the vote. More than a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the election of Dr. Johnson and Mr. Breunig to the board of directors for a three year term expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders in the year 2029. In addition, more than a majority of the votes cast have been voted in favor of the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP to serve as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year. Finally, more than a majority of the votes cast have been voted in favor of the proposal to approve the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers in 2025.
Thank you for that report. Based on these results, I now declare that Dr. Johnson and Mr. Breuning have been duly elected directors of the company to serve until the annual meeting of stockholders in 2029, or until their successors are elected and qualified. My congratulations to both of them on their re-election to our board. I also declare that the action of appointing KPMG as independent auditors for the company for the year 2026 has been duly ratified. I declare that the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers in 2025 has been approved. At this time, I'd like to ask if there are any questions.
We have no questions.
Okay. I want to thank all of you for attending the annual meeting. We appreciate your support of Minerals Technologies. The meeting is adjourned.
This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.