PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) today announced that its board of directors has amended the company’s annual cash dividend policy to increase the annual dividend rate by 25 percent, from $0.40 to $0.50 per year, payable quarterly at a rate of $0.125 per share. PPD expects the new dividend rate will be effective beginning in the fourth quarter of 2008.
“PPD's board of directors, management team and employees are delighted to reward our shareholders with the third consecutive annual increase in our cash dividend rate since the adoption of the dividend policy in 2005,” said Fred Eshelman, chief executive officer of PPD. “We remain firmly committed to generating long-term shareholder value through the delivery of high quality services and the advancement of our compound portfolio strategy, and returning value to our shareholders."
PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing discovery, development and post-approval services as well as compound partnering programs. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 31 countries and more than 10,400 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help its clients and partners maximize returns on their R&D investments and accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics to patients. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.ppdi.com.
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this news release, including expectations and assumptions about payment of future dividends under the annual cash dividend policy, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although PPD attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors which could cause results to differ materially include the following: risks that we may not continue our dividend policy; success in sales growth; loss of large contracts; increased cancellation rates; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government industry segments; competition within the outsourcing industry; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with and dependence on collaborative relationships; risks associated with the development and commercialization of drugs, including earnings dilution and obtaining regulatory approval; risks associated with acquisitions and investments, such as impairments; rapid technological advances that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for PPD, copies of which are available free of charge upon request from the PPD investor relations department.
PPD, Inc.
Dan Darazsdi, 910-558-7915
dan.darazsdi@wilm.ppdi.com
or
Luke
Heagle, 910-558-7585
luke.heagle@wilm.ppdi.com