Tiffany & Co. (TIF) on Thursday said that its board approved a change in its dividend policy whereby the regular quarterly dividend rate will be increased, effective with the next payment in April, to $0.20 per share on its common stock from the current $0.17 per share, an increase of 18%.
Also, the company said that it will resume repurchasing its shares of common stock on the open market. Repurchases have been suspended since the third quarter of 2008. There remains $402 million available for repurchases under a currently authorized program that expires in January 2011.
The company's chairman and chief executive officer Michael Kowalski said, "Last week, we were pleased to report a better-than-expected 17% increase in Holiday sales and we raised our outlook for 2009 earnings. Both of these actions today reflect Tiffany's strong balance sheet liquidity, as well as the Board's confidence in our long-term ability to generate solid growth in earnings and cash flow."
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