Anheuser-Busch Announces Leverage Target & Share Program
21 Décembre 2006 - 8:03AM
UK Regulatory
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. Announces More Aggressive Leverage Target and
New Multi-Year 100 Million Share Repurchase Program
Company Reiterates Long-Term Earnings per Share Growth Objective
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 21 -- August A. Busch IV, president and chief executive
officer of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BUD), announced today that the Board
of Directors has approved a new, more aggressive leverage target to enhance
shareholder value. The company intends to modestly increase leverage and reduce
its cash flow to total debt target from the previous 30 to 40 percent range to
the 25 to 30 percent range.
"The more aggressive leverage target will enable Anheuser-Busch to use its
balance sheet more efficiently to support existing operations, acquisitions,
dividend growth and share repurchasing, while maintaining substantial
financial flexibility," said Busch. "Our first priority is to invest in our
businesses to enhance profit growth. This includes capital expenditures in
existing operations, and acquisitions and investments to enhance our long-term
earnings growth. The second priority is to return cash to shareholders by
consistently increasing dividends in line with expected growth in earnings per
share, and share repurchasing, consistent with the new leverage target."
"Investing for growth which enhances competitive advantage and increases
economic value added is our primary focus," added Busch. "We are sharply
focused on increasing shareholder value through profit growth and capital
efficiency. In 2006, capital spending was reduced by over $300 million to
about $825 million. This was done without compromising productivity
improvement, which reduced annual costs by about $100 million in 2006," Busch
said.
In conjunction with the more aggressive leverage target, the Board of
Directors of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. has approved a new 100 million share
repurchase program. The program follows a similar 100 million share program
authorized in March 2003. Approximately 15 million shares remain open under
the 2003 program (bringing total open authorized repurchases to approximately
115 million shares).
The new 100 million share repurchase program represents approximately
13 percent of outstanding common stock. Anheuser-Busch has been repurchasing
stock since 1984. Approximately 3.6 percent of shares outstanding have been
repurchased annually over the five-year period ending in 2005. The company
expects to repurchase about $2.5 billion of stock during 2007, subject to the
level of business investment. Although the company does not give short-term
earnings guidance, it continues to target 7 to 10 percent annual earnings per
share growth over the long-term.
Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer. The
company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light.
Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading
brewer, and a 27 percent share in Tsingtao, the leading premium brewer in
China. The company also is one of the largest theme park operators in the
United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans and one of
the world's largest recyclers of aluminum cans. For more information, visit
http://www.anheuser-busch.com .
This release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company's
expectations concerning its future operations, earnings and prospects. On the
date the forward-looking statements are made, the statements represent the
company's expectations, but the company's expectations concerning its future
operations, earnings and prospects may change. The company's expectations
involve risks and uncertainties (both favorable and unfavorable) and are based
on many assumptions that the company believes to be reasonable, but such
assumptions may ultimately prove to be inaccurate or incomplete, in whole or
in part. Accordingly, there can be no assurances that the company's
expectations and the forward-looking statements will be correct. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ (favorably or unfavorably)
from the expectations stated in this release include, among others, changes in
the pricing environment for the company's products; changes in U.S. demand for
malt beverage products, including changes in U.S. demand for other alcohol
beverages; changes in consumer preference for the company's malt beverage
products; changes in the cost of marketing the company's malt beverage
products; regulatory or legislative changes, including changes in beer excise
taxes at either the federal or state level and changes in income taxes;
changes in the litigation to which the company is a party; changes in raw
materials prices; changes in packaging materials costs; changes in energy
costs; changes in the financial condition of the company's suppliers; changes
in interest rates; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; unusual weather
conditions that could impact beer consumption in the U.S.; changes in
attendance and consumer spending patterns for the company's theme park
operations; changes in demand for aluminum beverage containers; changes in the
company's international beer business or in the beer business of the company's
international equity partners; changes in the economies of the countries in
which the company's international beer business or its international equity
partners operate; changes in the company's credit rating resulting from future
acquisitions or divestitures; and the effect of stock market conditions on the
company's share repurchase program. Anheuser-Busch disclaims any obligation to
update or revise any of these forward-looking statements. Additional risk
factors concerning the company can be found in the company's most recent Form
10-K.
SOURCE Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.
-0- 12/21/2006
CONTACT: Maureen Roth, of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., +1-314-765-6195
Web site: http://www.anheuser-busch.com
(BUD)
END
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