Ambassadors Group Declares Quarterly Dividend and Increased Share Repurchase Authorization
May 12 2011 - 5:24PM
Ambassadors Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:EPAX) ("Company"), a leading
provider of educational travel experiences, announced today that
its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per
share, which will be paid on June 9, 2011 to all common
shareholders of record on May 26, 2011. The Company's board of
directors continually reviews the Company's dividend policy to
ensure compliance with capital requirements, regulatory
limitations, the Company's financial position and other conditions,
which may affect the Company's desire or ability to pay dividends
in the future.
The Company also announced today that the board of directors
authorized a $15.0 million increase in the funds which the Company
may spend under the Company's stock repurchase plan. The amount
currently authorized $55.0 million, all of which the Company has
expended for the repurchase of its shares. The total amount
authorized is pursuant to a repurchase program approved by the
board of directors in May 2004, increased in August 2005, November
2006, November 2007, and November 2008. The stock repurchase
program provides for buying stock on the open market or through
negotiated transactions and retiring the shares to the Company's
treasury. The Company will determine the timing, the price and the
number of shares to be repurchased under the program.
Jeff Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Ambassadors Group, Inc.
stated, "We believe our repurchase program, combined with our
existing dividend policy, is consistent with the Company's
commitment to returning real value to our shareholders while
staying focused on profitable growth and operational execution. We
believe our dividend helps make Ambassadors a valuable investment,
and given the recent trading prices of our stock, continued share
repurchases make financial sense. As previously announced, we
completed the prior share repurchase authorized by the Board of
Directors in early April 2011. We are pleased with the results
of the share repurchase so far, and the board remains committed to
the current strategy. The allocation of capital resources
continues to be an important area of attention for our team, and we
do not believe this action will impact our near term cash
needs."
About Ambassadors Group, Inc.
The Company is a socially conscious, education company located
in Spokane, Washington. Ambassadors Group, Inc. is the parent
company of Ambassador Programs, Inc., World Adventures Unlimited,
Inc. and BookRags, Inc., an educational research website. The
Company also oversees the Washington School of World Studies, an
accredited travel study and distance learning school. Additional
information about the Company and its subsidiaries is available at
www.ambassadorsgroup.com. In this press release, "Company", "we",
"us", and "our" refer to Ambassadors Group, Inc. and its
subsidiaries.
The Ambassadors Group, Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3541
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding
our actual and expected financial performance and the reasons for
variances between period-to-period results. Forward-looking
statements, which are included per the "safe harbor" provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, may involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause actual results and performance in future periods to be
materially different from any future results or performance
suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. Such
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
release and may not reflect risks related to international unrest,
outbreak of disease, conditions in the travel industry, direct
marketing environment, changes in economic conditions and changes
in the competitive environment. We expressly disclaim any
obligation to provide public updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in
expectations or any change in events. Although we believe the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based
upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our
expectations will be met. For a more complete discussion of certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from anticipated results, please refer to the
Ambassadors Group, Inc. 10-K filed March 11, 2011, proxy statement
filed April 12, 2011, and 10-Q filed May 6, 2011.
CONTACT: Tony Dombrowik, Chief Financial Officer
(509) 568-7800
Investor Relations:
Stacy Feit
Financial Relations Board
(213) 486-6549
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