MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Chemical Company has announced that its Board of Directors has declared a 14% increase in the company’s dividend, from USD0.37 per share to USD0.42 per share in the fourth quarter, reported the company on its site.
This brings the Company’s annualized dividend to USD1.68 per share. The Company also announced a new USD5 billion tranche to its share repurchase program, bringing the total program to USD9.5 billion.
"Today’s announcement serves as a firm indication of our Board’s confidence in Dow’s fortified balance sheet position and future earnings potential, and further illustrates our commitment to consistently and increasingly rewarding shareholders," said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer.
"The actions we are taking to mitigate external volatility, coupled with the ongoing implementation of Dow’s strategic growth catalysts and market-aligned business strategy, are delivering consistent results - evidenced by eight consecutive quarters of year-over-year adjusted EPS, EBITDA and EBITDA margin growth and significant increases in cash flow, with more upside to come."
The dividend will be payable on January 30, 2015 to shareholders of record on December 31, 2014. This will mark the 413th consecutive cash dividend issued by the Company. Dow has paid its shareholders cash dividends every quarter since 1912. Since 2009, Dow’s dividend has increased by 19 percent on a compound basis.
Purchases under the share repurchase program may be made over time in open market or privately negotiated transactions. As previously announced, the company has committed to complete its previous USD4.5 billion share repurchase program by year-end. This new tranche brings Dow’s total target to USD9.5 billion, with execution timed to proceeds from portfolio management actions and increases in operating cash flows.
As MRC wrote before, Dow Chemical plans to expand capacity and enhance production technologies and equipment at its four polyethylene (PE) production units in Bahia Blanca, Argentina. The four polyethylene units include LDPE, slurry, gas phase and solution. These investments will enable Dow to produce more high-performance resins for flexible and rigid packaging applications to meet growing demand in Latin America, according to company officials.
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. As of 2007, it is the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue (after BASF) and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization (after BASF and DuPont). Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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