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Tiffany Announces 25% Rise in Quarterly Dividend
2007-08-29
Tiffany & Co.'s Board of Directors announced on Thursday a 25% rise in its quarterly dividend for common stock, in the latest sign of health at the world famous jewelers. The increase was the second such this year for Tiffany, with the latest move boosting the dividend rate from $0.12 per share per quarter to a new rate of $0.15 per share per quarter, or $0.60 per share on an annualized basis. The dividend will be paid on October 10, 2007 to stockholders of record on September 20. "Three months ago we announced a 20% increase in the dividend rate, which represented the fifth consecutive annual increase. After further consideration of Tiffany's performance, financial strength and long-term potential for generating strong earnings and cash flow, the Board concluded that increasing the dividend payout ratio was appropriate," Chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski said in a release. Tiffany is a jewelry and specialty retailer that produces most of its products by using subsidiary corporations. Founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany with a fancy goods emporium at 259 Broadway in Manhattan, Tiffany today boasts 150 stores in the US and international markets. With some 8,000 employees, Tiffany scored an 11% increase in fiscal 2006 sales to $2.648 billion, some 83% of which is composed of its jewelry business. Fiscal 2006 net income was largely unchanged at $253 million. Like many luxury labels, Tiffany has enjoyed recent rapid growth in China, adding two major new stores in that market in 2006. The flagships – a 1,900 square-foot store in Beijing's Oriental Plaza and a 700-square-foot store in Shanghai's Plaza 66 - have both benefited from significant consumer interest since opening. The luxury label's international chain, which includes stores in London, Vienna, Paris, Hamburg, Munich and Zurich in Europe and nearly a dozen in Japan, typically offers its diamond engagement rings, Tiffany Celebration rings, diamond jewelry in platinum and eighteen-karat gold settings, lustrous pearls, fashion jewelry, watches and the collections of Paloma Picasso and Jean Schlumberger.
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