Business
Rothmans declares 16% increase to regular quarterly dividend and reports strong results for second quarter of fiscal 2008
Rothmans declares 16% increase to regular quarterly dividend and reports strong results for second quarter of fiscal 2008.
About this update from Pantera Silver Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nTrading: TSX: ROC\n\n\nTORONTO, Oct. 26 /CNW/ - Rothmans Inc. today announced strong results for\nthe second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2008, which ended\nSeptember 30, 2007. The Company also announced a 16% increase in its regular\ndividend to $1.40 on an annualized basis or $0.35 per quarter from the\nprevious $1.20 annualized rate.\n\n\n"This increase in our regular dividend reflects both the strength of the\nCompany's balance sheet and the strong financial performance that has been\ngenerated by our 60%-owned subsidiary Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. (RBH),"\nsaid John Barnett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rothmans Inc.\n"Following our record first quarter, RBH continued to generate strong\nperformance this quarter resulting in the improvement of all significant\nmeasures of financial performance including sales, earnings and cash flow when\ncompared with the prior year."\n\n\nRothmans' earnings for the second quarter were $C33.3 million, or $0.49\nbasic earnings per share, compared with $28.3 million or $0.42 basic earnings\nper share in the same quarter of fiscal 2007. For the first six months of this\nfiscal year, Rothmans' earnings were $67.2 million or $0.99 per share,\ncompared with $57.6 million or $0.85 per share in the first half of the prior\nyear.\n\n\nSales at RBH, net of excise duty and taxes, increased to $179.7 million\nin the most recent quarter from $165.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal\n2007. Sales for the first six months of this fiscal year were $357.1 million\ncompared with $328.1 million for the same period a year earlier.\n\n\nRBH's EBITDA margin for the second quarter was 53.3% compared with 50.6%\nin the second quarter a year ago, primarily as a result of price increases\nacross all product categories. Price increases were partially offset by volume\nshifts to the lower priced tier of the cigarette price category and higher\ngeneral and administrative costs including compensation related expenses. In\nthe first quarter ended June 30, 2007, RBH's EBITDA margin was 55.5%.\n\n\nRBH shipped a total of 2.8 billion equivalent sticks into the domestic\nmarket during the second quarter of fiscal 2008, unchanged from the same\nperiod in fiscal 2007. For the six months ended September 30, 2007, domestic\nshipments were 0.6% higher than in the com...