LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) announced that its Board of Directors approved a 10% increase in the Company’s quarterly dividend. The quarterly cash dividend will increase from $0.335 to $0.37 per share and will be effective with the dividend payment to be distributed on November 1, 2013 to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 11, 2013. This increase raises the annual dividend rate to $1.48 per share.
David C. Novak, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “I am pleased to inform our shareholders we increased our dividend by 10%, marking the ninth consecutive year we have raised our dividend at a double-digit percentage rate. Our quarterly dividend has nearly doubled over the last five years.
Our first priority with the operating cash we generate is to invest in high-return global growth opportunities. In addition to investing in future growth, Yum!’s substantial free cash flow generation allows us to return significant cash to our shareholders through a meaningful quarterly dividend and share buybacks.”
Yum! initiated its dividend in 2004 and is in a select group of companies from the S&P 500 to increase its dividend at a double-digit percentage rate each of the past nine years. Over the long term, Yum! targets a payout ratio of 35% to 40% of annual net income before special items.
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 39,000 restaurants in more than 130 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #201 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of over $13 billion in 2012 and in 2013 was named among the top 100 Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. The Company’s restaurant brands - KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell - are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened over five new restaurants per day, making it a leader in international retail development. The Company has consistently been recognized for its reward and recognition culture, diversity leadership, community giving, and consistent shareholder returns.
