Message #26 From:
NewsBot Date: February 16, 2007 06:00:00 AM
IDC News Interactive Data Initiates Quarterly Cash Dividend
BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE: IDC), a leading provider of financial market data, analytics and related services to financial institutions, active traders and individual investors, today announced that its Board of Directors authorized the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend.
The Board has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share of common stock payable on March 30, 2007 to stockholders of record on March 1, 2007. Accordingly, the Company would return over $46 million annually to shareholders, if continued at that level based on the current number of outstanding common shares.
Stuart Clark, Interactive Data’s president and chief executive officer, stated, “Over the past two years, we have successfully expanded Interactive Data’s business through both organic growth and acquisitions, and, in the process, significantly increased our cash flow from operations. At the same time, we returned nearly $150 million to shareholders through special dividends. Our strong balance sheet and the compelling cash-generation characteristics of our business affords us an opportunity to provide value on a more consistent basis to shareholders through a regular quarterly dividend, as well as through our ongoing stock buyback activities. We believe these actions complement the opportunities we see to redeploy our capital to expand our business through acquisition and investment in internal growth initiatives.”
The actual declaration of future quarterly dividends, and the establishment of record and payment dates, is subject to final determination of the Board of Directors of Interactive Data. As of February 14, 2007, there were 93,449,662 outstanding shares of Interactive Data common stock.
Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and federal securities laws, and is subject to the safe-harbor created by such Act and laws. Forward-looking statements include our statements discussing our goals, beliefs, strategies, objectives, plans, future financial conditions, results of operations and cash flows or projections, including those statements related to any potential future quarterly dividends or any potential future stock repurchase transactions, including the timing, nature and financial impact of issuing any such dividend. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of our majority shareholder to exert influence over our affairs, including the ability to approve or disapprove any corporate actions submitted to a vote of our stockholders; (ii) the market price of our common stock and other market conditions; (iii) the difficulty in predicting our future cash needs; (iv) the nature of other investment opportunities available to us from time to time; (v) our operating cash flow; and (vi) other factors identified in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
About Interactive Data Corporation
Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE: IDC) is a leading global provider of financial market data, analytics and related services to financial institutions, active traders and individual investors. The Company’s businesses supply time-sensitive pricing, evaluations and reference data for more than 3.5 million securities traded around the world, including hard-to-value instruments. Many of the world's best-known financial service and software companies subscribe to the Company's services in support of their trading, analysis, portfolio management and valuation activities. Through its businesses, FT Interactive Data, ComStock, CMS BondEdge and eSignal, Interactive Data has approximately 2,200 employees in offices located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and is headquartered in Bedford, MA. Pearson plc (NYSE: PSO; LSE:PSON), an international media company, whose businesses include the Financial Times Group, Pearson Education, and the Penguin Group, owns approximately 62 percent of the outstanding common stock of Interactive Data Corporation. For more information, please visit www.interactivedata.com.
The FT Interactive Data business includes FT Interactive Data Corporation, a Delaware corporation. The ComStock business includes ComStock, Inc., a New York corporation.
