Additionally, TJX announced that its Board of Directors has increased the Company's regular quarterly dividend on its common stock by 33% to $.03 per post-split share from $.0225 per post-split share, payable May 30, 2002, to shareholders of record as of May 20, 2002.
Edmond English, President and Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies, Inc. stated, "Our solid performance in the challenging environment of 2001 marks the third time in the last three decades that our Company has proven its ability to not only prosper in healthy economic times, but also stand up well in difficult times. The strength of our off-price concept, which delivers excellent values to customers on fresh assortments of brand name merchandise every day, continues to give us great confidence in our future. Our Board of Directors' approval of this two-for-one stock split of the Company's common stock, along with the 33% increase in our dividend, reflects our confidence in our ability to post significant growth in earnings per share in 2002 and the years beyond."
The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The Company operates 692 T.J. Maxx, 587 Marshalls, 120 HomeGoods and 48 A.J. Wright stores in the United States. In Canada, the Company operates 134 Winners and 7 HomeSense stores and in Europe, 103 T.K. Maxx stores. TJX's press releases and financial information are also available on the Internet at www.tjx.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Certain statements contained in this report are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: general economic conditions including affects of terrorist incidents and military actions and consumer demand and preferences; weather patterns in areas where we have concentrations of stores; competitive factors, including pressure from pricing and promotional activities of competitors; the impact of excess retail capacity and the availability of desirable store and distribution center locations on suitable terms; recruiting quality sales associates; the availability, selection and purchasing of attractive merchandise on favorable terms; our ability to effectively manage inventory levels; potential disruptions in supply and duties, tariffs and quotas on imported merchandise, as well as economic and political problems in countries from which merchandise is imported; currency and exchange rate factors in our foreign operations; expansion of our store base, development of new businesses and application of our off-price strategies in foreign countries; our acquisition and divestiture activities; our ultimate liability with respect to leases relating to discontinued operations including indemnification and other factors affecting or mitigating our liability; and other factors that are or may be described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise our forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized.
