GUELPH, Ont. – Linamar Corp. (TSX:LNR) is increasing its dividend by 25 per cent after what the manufacturer of precision engineered products says was a record year on a number of fronts.
The Ontario-based maker of driveline components for passenger vehicles and on- and off-road industrial vehicle and other products, says the quarterly dividend will rise to 10 cents per share from eight cents, payable April 16 to shareholders of record on April 2.
The company announced the increase as it reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $68.7 million or $1.06 per share, compared with $30.7 million or 47 cents in the same 2012 period.
Revenue increased to $926.1 million from $756.5 million.
“We are thrilled to register another fantastic quarter to close out a record year in sales and earnings for Linamar,” president and CEO Linda Hasenfratz said.
“Financially, we saw double-digit sales growth driven by market share growth in both our vehicle and access markets, eclipsed by excellent earnings growth to drive margins to above target levels, all of which drove massive cash generation to allow us to dramatically reduce debt levels.”
Meanwhile, the company “registered record levels of new business wins to solidify our growth over the next several years,” she said.
For the full year, sales increase 11.6 per cent to $3.6 billion from $3.2 billion, while net earnings were up 57.3 per cent to $229.8 million or $3.55 per share from $146.1 million or $2.26 per share.
