By Chelsey Dulaney
General Electric Co. said Friday that it has boosted its
quarterly dividend by 5%, as the industrial conglomerate continues
to make up ground for steep cuts it made to its dividend during the
financial crisis.
GE will boost its dividend by a penny, to 23 cents a share. CEO
Jeffrey Immelt said the increase is its seventh in five years,
though is still below the level GE was paying in 2009 when it made
its first cut since the Great Depression.
GE slashed its quarterly dividend in February 2009, to 10 cents
a share from 31 cents, to save $9 billion a year. The move was seen
as humbling for a company but necessary as investors' concerns
about GE's exposure to lending businesses grew more acute.
Friday's increase comes as GE is adjusting to competitive
pressures and trying to boost a long-sluggish stock price. The
company has been shedding businesses to focus on finance and
big-ticket industrial equipment like power turbines and aircraft
engines.
The increase will cost the company about an extra $400 million a
year and brings the yield to 3.7%.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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