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The Board declared that the dividend is payable October 25, 2010 to shareowners of record at the close of business on September 20, 2010. The ex-dividend date is September 16, 2010.
In addition, the Board extended the existing share-repurchase plan, which would have otherwise expired on December 31, 2010, through 2013. Repurchases under the existing $15 billion repurchase plan were suspended on September 25, 2008. The plan currently has approximately $11.6 billion in remaining authorization. The Company will resume repurchases under the plan this quarter.
“We are able to restore the GE dividend at a historical payout level for 2010 earlier than previously anticipated and to extend our share buyback program because of continued strong cash generation, recovery at GE Capital, and solid underlying performance in our Industrial businesses through the first half of 2010,” GE CEO Jeff Immelt said. “In addition, the Company continues to plan on capitalizing on strategic and financially attractive inorganic growth opportunities.
“We are executing well, progressing on our plans to make GE Capital a smaller, more competitive specialty-finance company, and continuing to generate strong cash flow,” Immelt said. “This gives us the flexibility to allocate capital for growth and shareholder value, while keeping GE safe and secure.”
GE (ge.com) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, health care solutions, and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “see,” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, particular uncertainties that could cause our actual results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements include: current economic and financial conditions, including volatility in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices and the value of financial assets; the impact of conditions in the financial and credit markets on the availability and cost of General Electric Capital Corporation’s (GECC) funding and on our ability to reduce GECC’s asset levels as planned; the impact of conditions in the housing market and unemployment rates on the level of commercial and consumer credit defaults; our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so; the adequacy of our cash flow and earnings and other conditions which may affect our ability to pay our quarterly dividend at the planned level; the level of demand and financial performance of the major industries we serve, including, without limitation, air and rail transportation, energy generation, network television, real estate and healthcare; the impact of regulation and regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks, including the impact of financial services regulation; strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating acquired businesses; and numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business and competitive nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
Press Contact Anne Eisele, GE / P: +1 203 373 3061, M: +1 203 522 9045, E: anne.eisele[.]ge.com.
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