HOUSTON and LONDON, May 13,
2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) today
announced that its Supervisory Board has authorized the company's
Management Board to declare an interim dividend of $0.85 per share, representing a nine percent
increase from the company's first quarter 2016 dividend. The
interim dividend will be paid June 7,
2016 to shareholders of record May
24, 2016, with an ex-dividend date of May 20, 2016.
The company also announced that at its Annual General Meeting on
May 11, 2016, 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.
"Because of our disciplined approach we have returned more than
$21.6 billion to our shareholders
through dividend payments and share repurchases over the past five
years," said Bob Patel,
LyondellBasell CEO and chairman of the management board. "Our
increased dividend and new share repurchase program demonstrate our
focused commitment to return value to our shareholders."
LyondellBasell is in the top quintile of the Standard &
Poor's 500 index for dividend yield.
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 426
million shares outstanding as of May 11,
2016.
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, 2015, 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.
About LyondellBasell
LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB)
is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining
companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell
(www.lyb.com) manufactures products at 57 sites in 18 countries.
LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items
that improve the quality of life for people around the world
including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home
furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.
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SOURCE LyondellBasell