Watsco, Inc. (NYSE: WSO) (Paris: WSO) announced today that its Board of
Directors has approved a 21% increase in its annual dividend to $3.40
per share on each outstanding share of its Common and Class B common
stock. The increase will be reflected in the Company’s next regular
dividend payment beginning in January 2016.
Watsco has paid dividends to shareholders for 40 consecutive years. The
Company’s philosophy is to share increasing amounts of cash flow through
higher dividends while maintaining a conservative balance sheet with
continued capacity to build its distribution network. Future changes in
dividends are considered in light of investment opportunities, cash
flow, general economic conditions and Watsco’s overall financial
condition.
About Watsco
Watsco improves indoor living and working environments with air
conditioning and heating solutions that provide comfort regardless of
the outdoor climate. There are approximately 89 million central air
conditioning and heating systems installed in the United States that
have been in service for more than 10 years. Older systems often operate
below today’s government mandated energy efficiency and environmental
standards. Watsco has an opportunity to accelerate the replacement of
these systems at a scale greater than our competitors as the movement
toward reducing energy consumption and its environmental impact
continues. This is especially important since heating and cooling
accounts for approximately half of the energy consumed in a typical U.S.
home.
Watsco’s traditional sales channel is the sale of products from one of
its 567 locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico,
and on an export basis to Latin America and the Caribbean. This network
has been built over the last 25 years and serves 88,000 active
customers. Watsco is developing and investing in technologies to enable
sales via e-commerce, on-line marketplaces and through the retail sales
channel. As the industry leader, significant growth potential remains
given that the estimated marketplace for HVAC/R products on a retail
basis is estimated to be $80 billion. Additional information about
Watsco may be found at http://www.watsco.com.
This document includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements are based on management's current expectations and are
subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may
differ materially from these expectations due to changes in economic,
business, competitive market, new housing starts and completions,
capital spending in commercial construction, consumer spending and debt
levels, regulatory and other factors, including, without limitation, the
effects of supplier concentration, competitive conditions within
Watsco’s industry, seasonal nature of sales of Watsco’s products, the
ability of the Company to expand its business, insurance coverage risks
and final GAAP adjustments. Forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date the statement was made. Watsco assumes no obligation to update
forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in
assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking
information. Detailed information about these factors and additional
important factors can be found in the documents that Watsco files with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and
Form 8-K.
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