PHILADELPHIA, July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN)
today announced that its board of directors has approved an increase in the
Company's quarterly dividend. The quarterly dividend will increase two and
one-half cents per share, or 9 percent, to a new quarterly dividend rate of
30 cents per share. The dividend is payable on September 10, 2004 to
shareholders of record at the close of business on August 10, 2004. The
increase brings the annualized dividend rate on the Company's common stock to
$1.20 per share.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19981105/PHTH006 )
"This increase, our second in less than one year, reflects both our
confidence in Sunoco's future and our strategy to return cash to our
shareholders," said John G. Drosdick, Sunoco Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "The fundamental outlook for our businesses remains favorable and
the strategic growth added to our asset base over the past year has
significantly increased our earnings power. As we look ahead, we believe we
will be able to continue our balanced approach of funding asset growth,
dividends and share repurchase while maintaining a strong balance sheet. This
strategy, we believe, can provide the best long-term return to Sunoco
shareholders."
Sunoco, Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, is a leading manufacturer
and marketer of petroleum and petrochemical products. With 890,000 barrels
per day of refining capacity, approximately 4,900 retail sites selling
gasoline and convenience items, over 4,500 miles of crude oil and refined
product owned and operated pipelines and 37 product terminals, Sunoco is one
of the largest independent refiner-marketers in the United States. Sunoco is
a significant manufacturer of petrochemicals with annual sales of
approximately five billion pounds, largely chemical intermediates used to make
fibers, plastics, film and resins. Utilizing a unique, patented technology,
Sunoco also manufactures two million tons annually of high-quality
metallurgical-grade coke for use in the steel industry. For additional
information visit Sunoco's Web site at http://www.SunocoInc.com.
NOTE: Those statements made in this release that are not historical facts
are forward-looking intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Although Sunoco believes that the assumptions
underlying these statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that such
forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and necessarily involve
risks that may affect Sunoco's business prospects and performance causing
actual results to differ from those discussed in the foregoing release. Such
risks and uncertainties include, by way of example and not of limitation:
general business and economic conditions; competitive products and pricing;
changes in refining, chemical and other product margins; variation in
petroleum-based commodity prices and availability of crude oil supply or
transportation; fluctuations in supply of feedstocks and demand for products
manufactured; changes in operating conditions and costs; changes in the
expected level of environmental capital, operating or remediation
expenditures; potential equipment malfunction; potential labor relations
problems; the legislative and regulatory environment; plant
construction/repair delays; nonperformance by major customers, suppliers or
other business partners; and political and economic conditions, including the
impact of potential terrorist acts and international hostilities. These and
other applicable risks and uncertainties have been described more fully in
Sunoco's first quarter Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on May 7, 2004 and in other periodic reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Sunoco undertakes no obligation to update
any forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new
information or future events.
SOURCE Sunoco, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.SunocoInc.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/829144.html
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19981105/PHTH006
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Jerry Davis (media), +1-215-977-6298; or
Terry Delaney (investors), +1-215-977-6106, both of Sunoco
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