Cognex Declares Very Special Cash Dividend
Cognex Declares Very Special Cash Dividend
NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cognex Corporation (NAS: CGNX) announced today that the company's Board of Directors declared a "very special" cash dividend of $1.00/share, payable on December 24, 2012 to all shareholders of record at the close of business on December 14, 2012.
"Cognex started giving dividends back in 2003, and since that time, we have been reliably paying dividends each and every quarter. We decided to pay dividends back then because the Bush-era tax cuts made giving dividends a rather efficient way of sharing the company's success with our shareholders. However, the company now believes that starting in January, 2013 the federal tax on dividends will be increased substantially. If that occurs, cash dividends will no longer be an effective way of rewarding our shareholders," said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Chairman and Founder of Cognex.
Dr. Shillman continued, "Nevertheless, we will not let tax policy interfere with our company's policy of sharing our success with our shareholders. Therefore, instead of distributing quarterly dividends for the next eight quarters commencing in 2013, we have decided to reward our shareholders by prepaying, while the tax rate is still low, the present value of our estimate of what those dividends would likely be if the tax remained at the 15% level. We are able to do this because Cognex has a very strong balance sheet with over $400 million in cash and investments and no debt, and because we are confident in our company's future."
About Cognex Corporation
Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and markets a range of products that incorporate sophisticated machine vision technology that gives them the ability to "see." Cognex products include barcode readers, machine vision sensors and machine vision systems that are used in factories, warehouses and distribution centers around the world to guide, gauge, inspect, identify and assure the quality of items during the manufacturing and distribution process. Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 800,000 vision-based products, representing over $3 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, Cognex has regional offices and distributors located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, Asia and Latin America. For details visit Cognex online at http://www.cognex.com.
Cognex Corporation
Susan Conway, 508-650-3353
Director of Investor Relations
susan.conway@cognex.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America Massachusetts
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
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