CINCINNATI, Sept. 19,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co.'s (NYSE: KR)
Board of Directors today declared a quarterly dividend of
32 cents per share to be paid on
December 1, 2024, to shareholders of
record as of the close of business on November 15, 2024.
The company's quarterly dividend has grown at a 13.5% compounded
annual growth rate since it was reinstated in 2006. The company
continues to expect, subject to board approval, an increasing
dividend over time.
Kroger's capital allocation strategy is to use its free cash
flow to invest in the business to drive long-term sustainable net
earnings growth while also maintaining its current investment grade
debt rating and returning capital to shareholders. The company
actively balances the use of its free cash flow to achieve these
goals.
About Kroger
At
The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated
to our Purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our
family of companies nearly half a million associates who serve over
eleven million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping
experience and retail food stores under a variety
of banner names, serving America through food
inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste
communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit
our newsroom and investor
relations site.
This press release contains certain statements that constitute
"forward-looking statements" about the future performance of the
company. These statements are based on management's assumptions and
beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Such
statements are indicated by words or phrases such as "continues,"
"expect," "goals," and "strategy." Various uncertainties and
other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from
those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include
the specific risk factors identified in "Risk Factors" in our
annual report on Form 10-K for our last fiscal year and any
subsequent filings, as well as the following:
Kroger's ability to achieve sales, earnings, incremental FIFO
operating profit, and adjusted free cash flow goals may be affected
by: our proposed transaction with Albertsons, including, among
other things, our ability to consummate the proposed transaction
and related divestiture plan, including on the terms of the merger
agreement and divestiture plan, on the anticipated timeline, with
the required regulatory approvals, and/or resolution of pending
litigation challenging the merger; labor negotiations; potential
work stoppages; changes in the unemployment rate; pressures in the
labor market; changes in government-funded benefit programs;
changes in the types and numbers of businesses that compete with
Kroger; pricing and promotional activities of existing and new
competitors, and the aggressiveness of that competition; Kroger's
response to these actions; the state of the economy, including
interest rates, the inflationary, disinflationary and/or
deflationary trends and such trends in certain commodities,
products and/or operating costs; the geopolitical environment
including wars and conflicts; unstable political situations and
social unrest; changes in tariffs; the effect that fuel costs have
on consumer spending; volatility of fuel margins; manufacturing
commodity costs; supply constraints; diesel fuel costs related to
Kroger's logistics operations; trends in consumer spending; the
extent to which Kroger's customers exercise caution in their
purchasing in response to economic conditions; the uncertainty of
economic growth or recession; stock repurchases; changes in the
regulatory environment in which Kroger operates; Kroger's ability
to retain pharmacy sales from third party payors; consolidation in
the healthcare industry, including pharmacy benefit managers;
Kroger's ability to negotiate modifications to multi-employer
pension plans; natural disasters or adverse weather conditions; the
effect of public health crises or other significant catastrophic
events; the potential costs and risks associated with potential
cyber-attacks or data security breaches; the success of Kroger's
future growth plans; the ability to execute our growth strategy and
value creation model, including continued cost savings, growth of
our alternative profit businesses, and our ability to better serve
our customers and to generate customer loyalty and sustainable
growth through our strategic pillars of fresh, our brands,
personalization, and seamless; and the successful integration of
merged companies and new partnerships; and the risks relating to or
arising from our proposed nationwide opioid litigation settlement,
including our ability to finalize and effectuate the settlement,
the scope and coverage of the ultimate settlement and the expected
financial or other impacts that could result from the settlement.
Our ability to achieve these goals may also be affected by our
ability to manage the factors identified above. Our ability to
execute our financial strategy may be affected by our ability to
generate cash flow.
Kroger assumes no obligation to update the information contained
herein unless required by applicable law. Please refer to Kroger's
reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for
a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.