Avon to Maintain Regular Quarterly Dividend

NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc. AVP today declared a regular quarterly dividend of $.06 per common share, payable March 2, 2015, to shareholders of record on February 23, 2015.

On an annualized basis, the indicated dividend rate would be $.24 per share, unchanged from the 2014 rate.

Avon is the company that for more than 125 years has stood for beauty, innovation, optimism and, above all, for women. With nearly $9 billion in annual revenue, Avon products are sold through 6 million active independent Avon Sales Representatives worldwide. Avon products include color cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and fashion and home, featuring such well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, ANEW, Avon Care, Skin-So-Soft, and Advance Techniques. Learn more about Avon and its products at www.avoncompany.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR PURPOSES OF THE "SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

Statements in this release that are not historical facts or information may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "would" and similar expressions, or the negative of those expressions, may identify forward-looking statements. They include, among other things, statements regarding our anticipated or expected results, future financial performance, various strategies and initiatives (including our stabilization strategies, cost savings initiatives, restructuring and other initiatives and related actions), costs and cost savings, competitive advantages, impairments, the impact of foreign currency devaluations and other laws and regulations, government investigations, internal investigations and compliance reviews, results of litigation, contingencies, taxes and tax rates, potential alliances, acquisitions or divestitures, liquidity, cash flow, uses of cash and financing, hedging and risk management strategies, pension, postretirement and incentive compensation plans, supply chain and the legal status of our Representatives. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable current assumptions, expectations, plans and forecasts regarding the Company's current or future results and future business and economic conditions more generally. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievement of Avon to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from management's expectations. Such factors include, among others, the following:

• our ability to improve our financial and operational performance and execute fully our global business strategy, including our ability to implement the key initiatives of, and/or realize the projected benefits (in the amounts and time schedules we expect) from, our stabilization strategies, cost savings initiatives, restructuring and other initiatives, product mix and pricing strategies, enterprise resource planning, customer service initiatives, sales and operation planning process, outsourcing strategies, Internet platform and technology strategies including e-commerce, marketing and advertising strategies, information technology and related system enhancements and cash management, tax, foreign currency hedging and risk management strategies, and any plans to invest these projected benefits ahead of future growth;
• the possibility of business disruption in connection with our stabilization strategies, cost savings initiatives, or restructuring and other initiatives;
• our ability to reverse declining revenue, margins and net income, particularly in North America, and to achieve profitable growth, particularly in our largest markets, such as Brazil, and developing and emerging markets, such as Mexico and Russia;
• our ability to improve working capital and effectively manage doubtful accounts and inventory and implement initiatives to reduce inventory levels, including the potential impact on cash flows and obsolescence;
• our ability to reverse declines in Active Representatives, to enhance our sales Leadership programs, to generate Representative activity, to increase the number of consumers served per Representative and their engagement online, to enhance branding and the Representative and consumer experience and increase Representative productivity through field activation programs and technology tools and enablers, to invest in the direct-selling channel, to offer a more social selling experience, and to compete with other direct-selling organizations to recruit, retain and service Representatives and to continue to innovate the direct-selling model;
• general economic and business conditions in our markets, including social, economic and political uncertainties in the international markets in our portfolio, such as in Russia and Ukraine, and any potential sanctions, restrictions or responses to such conditions imposed by other markets in which we operate;
• the effect of economic factors, including inflation and fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, as well as the designation of Venezuela as a highly inflationary economy and the devaluation of its currency, the availability of various foreign exchange systems including limited access to SICAD II or the introduction of new exchange systems in Venezuela, foreign exchange restrictions, particularly foreign currency restrictions in Venezuela and Argentina, and the potential effect of such factors on our business, results of operations and financial condition;
• any developments in or consequences of investigations and compliance reviews, and any litigation related thereto, including the investigations and compliance reviews of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") and related United States ("U.S.") and foreign law matters in China and additional countries, as well as any disruption or adverse consequences resulting from such investigations, reviews, related actions or litigation, including the retention of a compliance monitor as required by the deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and a consent to settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any changes in Company policy or procedure suggested by the compliance monitor or undertaken by the Company, the duration of the compliance monitor and whether and when the Company will be permitted to undertake self-reporting, the Company's compliance with the deferred prosecution agreement and whether and when the charges against the Company are dismissed with prejudice;
• a general economic downturn, a recession globally or in one or more of our geographic regions, or sudden disruption in business conditions, and the ability of our broad-based geographic portfolio to withstand an economic downturn, recession, cost inflation, commodity cost pressures, economic or political instability, competitive or other market pressures or conditions;
• the effect of political, legal, tax and regulatory risks imposed on us in the U.S. and abroad, our operations or our Representatives, including foreign exchange, pricing, data privacy or other restrictions, the adoption, interpretation and enforcement of foreign laws, including in jurisdictions such as Brazil, Russia, Venezuela and Argentina, and any changes thereto, as well as reviews and investigations by government regulators that have occurred or may occur from time to time, including, for example, local regulatory scrutiny in Venezuela;
• the impact of changes in tax rates on the value of our deferred tax assets, and declining earnings, including the amount of any domestic source loss and the amount, type, jurisdiction and timing of any foreign source income (which may be impacted by foreign currency movements), on our ability to realize foreign tax credits in the U.S.;
• competitive uncertainties in our markets, including competition from companies in the consumer packaged goods industry, some of which are larger than we are and have greater resources;
• the impact of the adverse effect of volatile energy, commodity and raw material prices, changes in market trends, purchasing habits of our consumers and changes in consumer preferences, particularly given the global nature of our business and the conduct of our business in primarily one channel;
• our ability to attract and retain key personnel;
• other sudden disruption in business operations beyond our control as a result of events such as acts of terrorism or war, natural disasters, pandemic situations, large-scale power outages and similar events;
• key information technology systems, process or site outages and disruptions, and any cyber security breaches, including any security breach of our systems or those of a third-party provider that results in the theft, transfer or unauthorized disclosure of Representative, customer, employee or Company information or compliance with information security and privacy laws and regulations in the event of such an incident which could disrupt business operations, result in the loss of critical and confidential information, and adversely impact our reputation and results of operations, and related costs to address such malicious intentional acts and to implement adequate preventative measures against cyber security breaches;
• the risk of product or ingredient shortages resulting from our concentration of sourcing in fewer suppliers;
• the impact of any significant restructuring charges or significant legal or regulatory settlements on our ability to comply with certain covenants in our debt instruments;
• any changes to our credit ratings and the impact of such changes on our financing costs, rates, terms, debt service obligations, access to lending sources and working capital needs;
• the impact of our indebtedness, our access to cash and financing, and our ability to secure financing or financing at attractive rates;
• the impact of possible pension funding obligations, increased pension expense and any changes in pension standards and regulations or interpretations thereof on our cash flow and results of operations;
• our ability to successfully identify new business opportunities, strategic alliances and strategic alternatives and identify and analyze alliance and acquisition candidates, secure financing on favorable terms and negotiate and consummate alliances and acquisitions, as well as to successfully integrate or manage any acquired business;
• disruption in our supply chain or manufacturing and distribution operations;
• the quality, safety and efficacy of our products;
• the success of our research and development activities;
• our ability to protect our intellectual property rights; and
• the risk of an adverse outcome in any material pending and future litigation or with respect to the legal status of Representatives.

Additional information identifying such factors is contained in Item 1A of our 2013 Form 10-K, as updated by our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014, and other reports and documents we file with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.