LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21, 2007 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) announced today that its board of directors approved a 23 percent increase of the common stock quarterly dividend to $0.37 per share from $0.30 per share. The company also announced that it has entered into a $600 million accelerated share repurchase (ASR) agreement with Credit Suisse, New York Branch.
"These actions, our fourth double-digit dividend increase in four years and our third ASR, clearly demonstrate our ongoing commitment to distribute cash to shareholders as part of our balanced capital deployment strategy," said Ronald D. Sugar, Northrop Grumman chairman and chief executive officer. "The higher dividend represents a significant increase in the percentage of net income being returned to shareholders, and is consistent with our strategy of maintaining a competitive payout ratio. The ASR is an efficient method to rapidly reduce our shares outstanding."
The quarterly cash dividend of $0.37 per share will be payable March 17, 2007, to shareholders of record as of the close of business March 5, 2007. The board also declared a regular dividend of $1.75 per share on the company's Series B convertible preferred stock, payable April 16, 2007, to shareholders of record as of the close of business April 3, 2007.
Under the accelerated share repurchase agreement, the company will repurchase 7,969,185 shares of Northrop Grumman common stock from Credit Suisse at a price per share of $75.29, with closing scheduled for February 26, 2007. Credit Suisse plans to purchase an equivalent number of shares in the open market, and Northrop Grumman may receive or be required to remit a price adjustment based upon the volume weighted average price of Northrop Grumman common shares purchased by Credit Suisse.
This latest ASR represents more than 50 percent of the company's $1.175 billion share repurchase authorization. As previously announced, the company expects to complete the balance of its current share repurchase authorization by the end of next year.
The company completed two previous ASRs in 2006 in which it repurchased approximately 20.6 million shares. Including today's ASR agreement, the company has repurchased more than 61 million shares of its common stock for $3.6 billion since it began repurchasing its shares in August 2003.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.
Note: Certain statements and assumptions in this release contain or are based on "forward looking" information that Northrop Grumman Corporation (the "Company") believes to be within the definition of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties, and include among others, statements in the future tense, and all statements accompanied by terms such as "on going commitment" or variations thereof. This information reflects the Company's best estimates when made, but the Company expressly disclaims any duty to update this information if new data become available or estimates change after the date of this release. A complete list of these risks and uncertainties is set out in the company's filings w/ Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including without limitation, on Form 10K and Form 10Q.