Merck Announces Increased Quarterly Dividend and $10 Billion Share Repurchase Authorization
November 28, 2017 2:33 pm ET
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada,
today announced that the Board of Directors has increased the company’s
quarterly dividend to $0.48 per outstanding share of the company’s
common stock, up $0.01 from $0.47 per outstanding share paid last
quarter. Payment will be made on Jan. 8, 2018, to stockholders of record
at the close of business on Dec. 15, 2017. The Board also authorized an
additional $10 billion of treasury stock purchases with no time limit
for completion.
“Our strong balance sheet, consistent performance and the strength of
our underlying business allow us to increase the dividend and authorize
additional opportunistic share repurchases,” said Kenneth C. Frazier,
chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “Today’s actions reflect
confidence in our ability to continue to invent and deliver
differentiated medicines and vaccines, and our commitment to return
value to shareholders.”
Merck last announced a dividend increase in November 2016, when the
Board raised the dividend from $0.46 to $0.47 per common share.
About Merck
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical
company known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been
inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of
the world’s most challenging diseases. Through our prescription
medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we
work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver
innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to
increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs
and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of
research to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that
threaten people and communities around the world – including cancer,
cardio-metabolic diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease
and infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information,
visit www.merck.com
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and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the
“company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs
and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to
significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove
inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may
differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry
conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest
rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of
pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the
United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost
containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained
by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development,
including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to
accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties
or delays; financial instability of international economies and
sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents
and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results
to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements can be found in the company’s 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K
and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
Merck
Media:
Tracy Ogden, 908-740-1747
Claire Gillespie, 267-305-0932
or
Investors:
Teri Loxam, 908-740-1986
Amy Klug, 908-740-1898
