11/26/2013 12:02:00 AM
NEWS BRIEFS
“Significant Excess Liquidity” at Anixter Spurs Special Dividend
Anixter International’s board of directors declared the payment of a special dividend to shareholders of $5 per common share, or a total cash outlay of approximately $165 million. The special dividend is payable on January 2, 2014, to shareholders of record on December 11, 2013.
“Our continued strong cash flow generation of nearly $500 million over the past three years has resulted in a debt to total capital ratio of 43 percent at the end of the third quarter, which falls below our target range of 45–50 percent,” CEO Robert Eck. “This presented us with the opportunity to return capital to our shareholders while still maintaining ample resources to support foreseeable growth.”
Anixter ended the third quarter of 2013 with “significant excess liquidity of more than $500 million.”
Eck said the decision to pay a special dividend was made to keep the company’s capital structure and investment profile unchanged.
“By making this payment in the form of a special dividend rather than committing to a regular dividend payment, we maintain the flexibility to use future cash flows to invest in the growth of the business as the global economy further improves,” concluded Eck.
The announcement comes on the heels of an especially strong quarter for the company’s OEM Supply segment, including results from Anixter Fasteners.
OEM Supply revenue in Q3 increased 9.3% to $224.7 million, which included an 8.5% increase in organic sales.
By region, OEM Supply sales in North America rose 1% to $94 million, while sales in Europe increased 12.3% to $112.1 million and Emerging Market sales improved 32% to $18.6 million.
Q3 OEM Supply operating income rose to $8.4 million compared to adjusted operating income of $0.3 million in the year ago quarter and compares to $5.7 million in the previous quarter. Operating margin of 3.7% compares to adjusted operating margin of 0.2% in the prior year quarter and 2.4% in the second quarter of 2013.
Nine-month OEM Supply sales fell 2.5% to $687.8 million, led by a 7.2% drop in North America sales.
In June 2013 Anixter Fasteners unveiled its new facility in Monterrey, Mexico.
The new facility is intended to support Anixter’s customers in Mexico and “facilitate the growing demand in the region.”
The 50,000 sq ft facility includes 45,000 sq ft of warehouse space; 5,397 racking positions; and 5 shipping docks. ©2013 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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