Celanese Corporation Doubles Dividend from $0.36 to $0.72

Celanese Corporation

, a global technology and specialty materials company, today announced that its board of directors has approved a 100 percent increase in the company's quarterly common stock cash dividend. The dividend rate increased from $0.09 to $0.18 per share of common stock on a quarterly basis and from $0.36 to $0.72 per share of common stock on an annual basis. The new dividend rate will be applicable immediately. "Doubling our dividend reflects our continued confidence in Celanese's strategic direction and our ability to generate cash to support our long-term growth objectives," said Mark Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer. "We will continue to pursue a balanced cash deployment strategy, including dividends, share repurchases and debt reduction, while investing in growth initiatives that should generate strong returns for our shareholders." The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per share on its Series A common stock, payable on August 15, 2013. The dividend is payable for the period beginning May 1, 2013 and ending on and including July 31, 2013 to stockholders of record as of August 5, 2013.