Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLP), a leading provider of simulation and modeling software for pharmaceutical discovery and development, today announced that its board of directors has decided to accelerate a portion of the expected dividend payments for 2013, in light of uncertainty surrounding taxes on dividends.
The Board of Directors declared its next ongoing quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share. In addition, the Board of Directors decided to pay a $0.03 per share portion of the intended $0.05 per share dividend for the following three quarters to its shareholders. This accelerated payment will be distributed on Friday, December 28, 2012, for shareholders of record as of Monday, December 24, 2012.
Ms. Momoko Beran, chief financial officer of Simulations Plus, said: “The board has decided, as many other public boards have, that to take advantage of the federal income tax rates currently in effect and due to expire on December 31, it is in the best interests of the majority of shareholders to receive dividend distributions during the current tax year. The board will continue to review the Company’s dividend policy, considering tax rates, policies, and the Company’s financial performance.”
Walt Woltosz, chairman and chief executive officer of Simulations Plus, added: “Some companies are distributing as much as eight quarters of dividends in advance, but their yields are more typically around two percent, while ours is more than double that. By distributing a portion of the second through fourth quarter intended dividends now, we benefit current shareholders. By maintaining the remaining portion for those quarters as intended distributions for next year, we expect to maintain interest in the stock for investors who seek dividends at a rate competitive with most other dividend-paying companies. It should be noted that the board of directors always has the option of increasing, decreasing, or eliminating future dividend payments in accordance with the Company’s priorities for its use of cash or changes in tax laws, so that there can be no assurances that future dividends will be paid, and if they are, what the actual amounts might be.”