Cat maintains quarterly dividend
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 08 June 2016 16:23
- Written by Paul Gordon
Caterpillar Inc. directors voted Wednesday to maintain the quarterly cash dividend at 77 cents a share, the company announced.
The dividend will be payable Aug. 29 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 20, the company said in a news release.
"Our balance sheet and operational performance are strong, even after several years of challenging market conditions. We are maintaining an attractive dividend for our stockholders and positioning the company for growth once our markets rebound," said Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman.
Caterpillar has paid higher dividends to its stockholders for 22 consecutive years, and since 2007, the company's cash dividend has more than doubled. Caterpillar has paid a cash dividend every year since the company was formed and has paid a quarterly dividend since 1933.
Wednesday’s voted came just prior to the company’s annual meeting of shareholders, which this year was in Muncie, Indiana.
During the meeting Oberhelman told attendees that despite downturns that have caused Caterpillar to trim its workforce by thousands in the past nine months, it remains the world’s leading maker of construction and mining equipment as well as other products.
Noting the company has successfully managed through a dozen downturns in its 91-year history, Oberhelman said it is managing this down cycle, which he said is record-long, “better than any previous one and we are setting up to be well-position when recovery comes, and it will.”
Regarding the future, he said Caterpillar is committed to using technology lowers costs by reducing downtime, predicting failure, increasing accuracy and operator safety and increasing productivity. Already, Oberhelman said, there are nearly 400,000 machines, engines, locomotives and turbines connected with the technology, providing customers with the data they need.
