HOUSTON and LONDON, May 8,
2015 /PRNewswire/ -- LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) today
announced that its Supervisory Board has authorized the company's
Management Board to declare an interim dividend of $0.78 per share, representing an 11% increase
from the company's first quarter 2015 dividend. The interim
dividend will be paid June 15, 2015
to shareholders of record June 1,
2015, with an ex-dividend date of May
28, 2015.
The company also announced that at its Annual General Meeting on
May 6, 2015, shareholders approved a
new share repurchase program authorizing the company to repurchase
up to 10% of the company's shares over the next 18 months. The
repurchases will be executed from time to time through open market
or privately negotiated transactions.
"The company has returned approximately $17.2 billion through share repurchases and
dividends since January 2011 and,
since initiating share repurchases in 2013, has repurchased
approximately 110 million shares. This new share repurchase program
and the increase in the regular interim dividend is reflective of
our continuing commitment to returning value to our shareholders,"
said CEO, Bob Patel.
The amount and timing of future share repurchases and dividends
will depend on, and be subject to, market conditions, general
economic conditions, applicable legal requirements and other
corporate considerations. The share repurchase program and dividend
policy may be suspended or discontinued at any time. This share
repurchase program does not obligate LyondellBasell to acquire any
particular amount of shares. LyondellBasell had approximately 473
million shares outstanding as of May 6,
2015.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Actual
outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed
or forecast in such forward-looking statements. These statements
are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ from
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
availability, cost and price volatility of raw materials and
utilities; supply/demand balances; industry production capacities
and operating rates; uncertainties associated with worldwide
economies; legal, tax and environmental proceedings; cyclical
nature of the chemical and refining industries; operating
interruptions; current and potential governmental regulatory
actions; terrorist acts; international political unrest;
competitive products and pricing; technological developments; the
ability to comply with the terms of our credit facilities and other
financing arrangements; the ability to implement business
strategies; and other factors affecting our business generally as
set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2014, which
can be found at www.lyondellbasell.com on the Investor Relations
page and on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at
www.sec.gov.
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SOURCE LyondellBasell