MTS Board Authorizes Share Purchase and Incremental ASR Funding

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Feb. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MTS Systems Corporation (Nasdaq: MTSC), announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the company to purchase up to an additional 2 million of its shares.  Approximately 600 thousand shares remain under an existing board authorization approved in August, 2007.

"While our priority for cash is to invest in our strategic growth initiatives, our strong financial position allows us to also return cash to shareholders," said Laura B. Hamilton, chief executive officer and chair. "This authorization enables us to continue to opportunistically purchase our shares for the benefit of our shareholders.

The authorization allows the company to purchase shares at prevailing market prices in the open market, via block purchases or in private transactions and may be discontinued at any time.  MTS purchased 1.36 million shares in fiscal 2010 and zero shares through the first quarter of fiscal 2011 ended January 1, 2011. The new authorization is equal to approximately 13% percent of MTS' shares outstanding as of January 1, 2011.

The Company also announced today that its Board of Directors approved additional funding to its previously announced accelerated share repurchase program authorization of $30 million to satisfy the potential estimated financial adjustment provisions of its agreement with J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc.  This financial adjustment is due to the increase in the price of the company's common stock since entering into the agreement on August 18, 2010.  The expected increase is in the range of $5 to $7 million.

About MTS Systems Corporation

MTS Systems Corporation is a leading global supplier of test systems and industrial 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 1,948 employees and revenue of $374 million for the fiscal year ended October 2, 2010. 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.  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. In addition to the factors discussed above, other important risk factors are delineated in the Company's most recent SEC Form 10-Q and 10-K filings.

SOURCE MTS Systems Corporation

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