Intel declares quarterly cash dividend, authorizes additional $10 billion for share repurchases

SANTA CLARA, USA: Intel Corp. has announced that its board of directors has declared an 18.12 cents per share quarterly dividend (72.48 cents per share on an annual basis), reflecting the previously announced 15 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2010.

The dividend will be payable on March 1, 2011 to stockholders of record on Feb. 7, 2011. The Intel board is also increasing the authorization limit for share repurchases by an additional $10 billion, which increases the overall outstanding buyback authorization to $14.2 billion.

“In 2010, Intel achieved its best and most profitable year ever,” said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. “Today’s announcement signals confidence in our fundamental business strategies both today and looking forward, allowing us to return more cash to shareholders.”

Intel began paying a cash dividend in 1992 and has paid out approximately $21 billion to its shareholders in dividends. Intel cash dividends paid during 2010 totaled approximately $3.5 billion.

Since the company’s stock buyback program began in 1990, Intel has repurchased approximately 3.4 billion shares at a cost of approximately $70 billion. Taken together since their inception, Intel’s dividends and stock buyback program have returned approximately $91 billion to shareholders.