Northrop Grumman Increases Quarterly Dividend 23 Percent to $0.37 per Share; Will Buy Approximately 8 Million Shares in Accelera
22 Février 2007 - 2:24AM
PR Newswire (US)
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northrop Grumman
Corporation (NYSE:NOC) announced today that its board of directors
approved a 23 percent increase of the common stock quarterly
dividend to $0.37 per share from $0.30 per share. The company also
announced that it has entered into a $600 million accelerated share
repurchase (ASR) agreement with Credit Suisse, New York Branch.
"These actions, our fourth double-digit dividend increase in four
years and our third ASR, clearly demonstrate our ongoing commitment
to distribute cash to shareholders as part of our balanced capital
deployment strategy," said Ronald D. Sugar, Northrop Grumman
chairman and chief executive officer. "The higher dividend
represents a significant increase in the percentage of net income
being returned to shareholders, and is consistent with our strategy
of maintaining a competitive payout ratio. The ASR is an efficient
method to rapidly reduce our shares outstanding." The quarterly
cash dividend of $0.37 per share will be payable March 17, 2007, to
shareholders of record as of the close of business March 5, 2007.
The board also declared a regular dividend of $1.75 per share on
the company's Series B convertible preferred stock, payable April
16, 2007, to shareholders of record as of the close of business
April 3, 2007. Under the accelerated share repurchase agreement,
the company will repurchase 7,969,185 shares of Northrop Grumman
common stock from Credit Suisse at a price per share of $75.29,
with closing scheduled for February 26, 2007. Credit Suisse plans
to purchase an equivalent number of shares in the open market, and
Northrop Grumman may receive or be required to remit a price
adjustment based upon the volume weighted average price of Northrop
Grumman common shares purchased by Credit Suisse. This latest ASR
represents more than 50 percent of the company's $1.175 billion
share repurchase authorization. As previously announced, the
company expects to complete the balance of its current share
repurchase authorization by the end of next year. The company
completed two previous ASRs in 2006 in which it repurchased
approximately 20.6 million shares. Including today's ASR agreement,
the company has repurchased more than 61 million shares of its
common stock for $3.6 billion since it began repurchasing its
shares in August 2003. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30
billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000
employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in
information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding
to government and commercial customers worldwide. Note: Certain
statements and assumptions in this release contain or are based on
"forward looking" information that Northrop Grumman Corporation
(the "Company") believes to be within the definition of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and
uncertainties, and include among others, statements in the future
tense, and all statements accompanied by terms such as "on going
commitment" or variations thereof. This information reflects the
Company's best estimates when made, but the Company expressly
disclaims any duty to update this information if new data become
available or estimates change after the date of this release. A
complete list of these risks and uncertainties is set out in the
company's filings w/ Securities and Exchange Commission reports,
including without limitation, on Form 10K and Form 10Q. DATASOURCE:
Northrop Grumman Corporation CONTACT: Media, Tom Henson,
+1-310-201-3458, or Investors, Gaston Kent, +1-310-201-3423, both
of Northrop Grumman Corporation Web site:
http://www.northropgrumman.com/
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