KENILWORTH, N.J., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of Schering-Plough Corporation today declared a quarterly dividend of 6.5 cents per common share. This represents an increase of 1 cent per share, or 18.2 percent, compared to the current quarterly dividend and is the first increase since 2002. Payment will be made on May 29, 2007, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 4, 2007. As of Dec. 31, 2006, there were 1,486,515,193 common shares outstanding.
Said CEO and Chairman of the Board Fred Hassan: “The increase in the dividend reflects the transformed performance of the company since we launched our Action Agenda in the spring of 2003. We thank our investors for their trust and confidence as we continue to build Schering-Plough into a high- performance competitor for the long term.”
Said Chairman of the Board’s Finance Committee Arthur F. Weinbach: “The dividend increase we are announcing today is thanks to the strong performance of this company under the leadership of Fred Hassan and his management team. Strong execution on sound strategies on many fronts is delivering value for our shareowners.”
The Board of Directors today also declared a quarterly dividend of 75 cents per share on the 6% Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock. Payment will be made on June 15, 2007, to holders of record at the close of business on June 1, 2007. As of Dec. 31, 2006, there were 28,750,000 shares of Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding. The Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock’s conversion ratio will be adjusted to reflect the increase in the common share dividend, pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions in the company’s Certificate of Incorporation.
Schering-Plough is a global science-based health care company with leading prescription, consumer and animal health products. Through internal research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough discovers, develops, manufactures and markets advanced drug therapies to meet important medical needs. Schering-Plough’s vision is to earn the trust of the physicians, patients and customers served by its more than 32,000 people around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and its Web site is http://www.schering-plough.com.
Schering-Plough Corporation
CONTACT: Media: Steve Galpin, Jr., +1-908-298-7415, or Investors: AlexKelly or Robyn Brown, +1-908-298-7436
Web site: http://www.schering-plough.com/
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