PARSIPPANY, N.J. // PRNewswire-FirstCall // -- Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN) today announced an increase in the Company's quarterly cash dividend and that it plans to resume its share repurchase program.
"We are pleased to announce a tripling of our cash dividend and our intention to resume share repurchase activity," said Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide. "As we continue to transform the Company to drive free cash flow, these actions reflect our confidence in the resilience of our business model, our proven ability to execute, and the sustainability of our cash flow, while maintaining investment grade credit metrics."
The Board of Directors authorized an increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.12 from $0.04 per share, beginning with the dividend that is expected to be declared in the first quarter of 2010. With this increase the dividend is equivalent to an annual rate of $0.48 per share.
The Company also announced its plan to resume the repurchase of its common stock under its existing $200 million stock repurchase program, which currently has $157 million remaining capacity. The amount and timing of specific repurchases are subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. Repurchases may be conducted in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
As one of the world's largest hospitality companies, Wyndham Worldwide offers individual consumers and business-to-business customers a broad suite of hospitality products and services across various accommodation alternatives and price ranges through its premier portfolio of world-renowned brands. Wyndham Hotel Group encompasses approximately 7,110 franchised hotels and approximately 597,700 hotel rooms worldwide. Wyndham Exchange and Rentals offers leisure travelers, including its 3.8 million members access to over 65,000 vacation properties located in approximately 100 countries. Wyndham Vacation Ownership develops, markets and sells vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its network of over 155 vacation ownership resorts serving over 820,000 owners throughout North America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Wyndham Worldwide, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., employs approximately 25,000 employees globally.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, conveying management's expectations for the future based on plans, estimates and projections at the time the Company makes the statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements related to the Company's dividend policy, share repurchases, revenues, earnings and related financial and operating measures.
You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include general economic conditions, the performance of the financial and credit markets, the economic environment for the hospitality industry, the impact of war and terrorist activity, operating risks associated with the hotel, vacation exchange and rentals and vacation ownership businesses, as well as those described in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on November 5, 2009. Except for the Company's ongoing obligations to disclose material information under the federal securities laws, it undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements, to report events or to report the occurrence of unanticipated events.
SOURCE Wyndham Worldwide Corporation
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is a hotel franchising company.