INCREASES ITS QUARTERLY DIVIDEND BY 14% MONTREAL, Jan. 18, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - MTY Food Group Inc. ("MTY" or the "Company") (TSX: MTY), franchisor and operator of multiple concepts of restaurants worldwide, announces its quarterly dividend payment will increase from 18.5¢ per share to 21.0¢ per share, a growth of 14%. The 21.0¢ dividend will be payable on February 15, 2022 to shareholders registered in the Company's records at the end of the business day on February 3, 2022.
"We are extremely excited to announce an increase to our quarterly dividend. This will be our first increase since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resilience shown by our many brands and our customers' continued support over the course of the past two years have been anything but astonishing. Our free cash flow generation abilities are robust and we are very confident in the future of MTY despite the challenges COVID-19 restrictions still poses to our industry. The pandemic has allowed MTY to explore new paths for strategic growth more aggressively, including the continued expansion in online ordering platforms and digital marketing and the increased focus on capturing market share with our retail segment. The 14% increase represents the ninth increase since our first dividend of 4.5¢ per quarter was declared in November 2010" says Eric Lefebvre.
"In terms of capital allocation, MTY's priority remains to continue to seek strategic acquisitions as the market conditions improve to make such investments. We will also continue to invest in our current brand network and our share buyback under our existing NCIB. We hope to restore the great momentum in the growth of the company in the months and years to come as our industry reopens and markets find some form of normalcy."