The Board of Directors of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) has approved an increase in the company's regular quarterly cash dividend on common stock from $ 0.08 per share to $0.12 per share, effective with the quarterly dividend the Board has declared to be payable on March 14, 2007 to holders of record at the close of business on February 14, 2007. The increase in the dividend increases the annualized dividend rate on the company's common stock to $0.48 per common share.
"This represents a 50 percent increase in our dividend, which is the largest quarterly increase in Valero's history," said Bill Klesse, Valero's Chief Executive Officer. "In addition to showing our confidence in the company's business outlook and strong financial position, this large increase demonstrates our commitment to returning cash to shareholders while maintaining a balanced approach to allocating our cash flow."
About Valero
Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, with approximately 22,000 employees and annual revenue of more than $90 billion. The company owns and operates 18 refineries throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.3 million barrels per day, making it the largest refiner in North America. Valero is also one of the nation's largest retail operators with approximately 5,500 retail and branded wholesale outlets in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean under various brand names including Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, and Beacon. Please visit www.valero.com for more information.
Statements contained in this release that state the company's or management's expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The words "believe," "expect," " should," "estimates," and other similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. For more information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or forecasted, see Valero's annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and on Valero's website at www.valero.com.