Barrick Gold Corporation has announced that, consistent with its practice of paying a progressive dividend, the Board of Directors has authorized a quarterly dividend of US15 cents per share, which represents a 25% increase from the previous dividend.
Barrick's strong earnings and operating cash flows, combined with its positive outlook on the gold price, enables the Company to continue to make high return investments in its project pipeline and also increase its dividend. Over the last five years, Barrick has had a consistent track record of returning more capital to shareholders, increasing its dividend by more than 170%(1) on a quarterly basis(2).
The quarterly dividend is payable on December 15, 2011 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 30, 2011.
Barrick's vision is to be the world's best gold company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner.
(1) Calculated based on converting the 2006 semi-annual dividend of US11 cents per share to a quarterly equivalent.
(2) The declaration and payment of dividends remains at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on the Company's financial results, cash requirements, future prospects and other factors deemed relevant by the Board.