YUM! Brands Hike Quarterly Dividends 18%

Yum Brands

made an announcement today that the company's Board approved a quarterly dividend increase of 18 percent, up to $0.335 from the previous $0.285 per share. The annual dividend rate is now increased to $1.34 per share. Dividend payments will be assessed to shareholders on November 2, 2012 at record close of business on October, 12, 2012. The Kentucky-based company specializes in quick service restaurants serving chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food, namely under the Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands. The operation has spread to 110 different countries with more than 37,000 sites. Yum first paid dividends under the former name TRICON Global Restaurants at $0.10 per share, and has since boosted its dividends at double-digit rates ever since. Today, since its initial dividend declaration, the dividend payout is up more than 200 percent. Yum is trading up 14.8 percent at $67.76 year to date. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David C. Novak said, “I am pleased to inform our shareholders we increased our dividend by 18%, marking the eighth consecutive year we have raised our dividend at a double-digit percentage rate. Our quarterly dividend has more than 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 consistent performance and substantial free cash flow generation allows us to return significant cash to our shareholders through a meaningful quarterly dividend and share buybacks,” he said.