Nordson Corporation Board of Directors Increases Dividend 20% Marking 50 Consecutive Years of Annual
Nordson Corporation Board of Directors Increases Dividend 20% Marking 50 Consecutive Years of Annual Dividend Increases; Authorizes New $200 Million Share Repurchase Program
Company ranks 15th among publicly traded companies for longest running record of annual dividend increases
WESTLAKE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nordson Corporation (NAS: NDSN) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase in the company's quarterly cash dividend to $0.18 per common share from $0.15, an increase of 20 percent. The dividend is payable on September 10, 2013 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 27, 2013.
The Board also has authorized a new $200 million share repurchase program. This new program replaces the Board's March 2012 $100 million share repurchase program, under which approximately $41 million in Nordson shares had been purchased.
Expected uses for repurchased shares include, but are not limited to, funding benefit programs including stock options, restricted stock and 401(k) matching. Shares repurchased will be treated as treasury shares until used for such purposes. Shares may be purchased from time to time at prevailing prices, subject to market conditions, share price and other considerations. Purchases will be made on the open market pursuant to the applicable Securities Exchange Act Rules and will be funded from operating cash flows.
"The Board's actions reflect continued confidence in the long-term strength of our company and our ongoing commitment to creating shareholder value," said Nordson President and CEO Michael F. Hilton. "Nordson continues to generate strong cash flow which enables us to fund organic and acquisitive growth opportunities, to increase our dividend consistently, and to execute our share repurchase strategy."
"Today's dividend announcement marks the 50th consecutive year Nordson has increased its annual dividend, ranking us 15th among publicly traded companies with the longest-running records of consecutive dividend increases," continued Hilton. "Since the start of fiscal year 2011, we have increased our dividend from $0.105 per common share to $0.18 per common share, an increase of 71 percent. Over the same period, we have purchased approximately $246 million, or 8 percent, of Nordson's outstanding shares at a discount of approximately 35 percent compared to our third quarter closing price. Even with our investments in share repurchases and recent acquisitions, we remain very liquid with net debt at about 1.25 times EBITDA as of the end of our third quarter. Overall, our balanced and consistent approach to capital allocation has enabled us to deliver top quartile total shareholder return among our peers over an extended period of time."
Nordson Corporation delivers precision technology solutions that help customers increase throughput, productivity and up-time, enable new products and features, and decrease material usage. The company engineers, manufactures and markets differentiated products and systems used for dispensingadhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials and other materials, fluid management, test and inspection, UV curing and plasma surface treatment, all supported by application expertise and direct global sales and service. Nordson serves a wide variety of consumer non-durable, durable and technology end markets including packaging, nonwovens, electronics, medical, appliances, energy, transportation, construction, and general product assembly and finishing. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, the company has operations and support offices in more than 30 countries. Visit Nordson on the web at www.nordson.com, www.twitter.com/Nordson_Corp or www.facebook.com/nordson.
Nordson Corporation
James R. Jaye, 440.414.5639
Director, Communications & Investor Relations
Jim.Jaye@nordson.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America Ohio
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
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