Hewlett-Packard Co, the world’s biggest personal-computer maker, authorised a 10 per cent increase in its quarterly dividend, which the company expects to declare in May.
The current dividend, payable on April 4, will remain at 12 cents a share, the Palo Alto, California-based company said on Saturday in a regulatory filing. Hewlett-Packard last raised its dividend in 2011.
The company is working to reverse a slide in its stock price that has erased more than $35 billion from its market value over the past year. Under Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman, who took the reins in September, Hewlett-Packard is restructuring the company’s business divisions and investing more in research and development.
At the company’s annual shareholder meeting earlier this week, Whitman said Hewlett-Packard has “real financial challenges.” To streamline operations, she is combining the personal-computing and printing units into a group led by Todd Bradley, who ran the PC business.
Hewlett-Packard shares rose 2.6 per cent to $23.63 at the close on Tuesday in New York.
