NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc.
(NYSE: AVP) today declared a regular quarterly dividend of
$.06 per common share, payable
March 2, 2015, to shareholders of
record on February 23, 2015.
On an annualized basis, the indicated dividend rate would be
$.24 per share, unchanged from the
2014 rate.
Avon is the company that for
more than 125 years has stood for beauty, innovation, optimism and,
above all, for women. With nearly $9
billion in annual revenue, Avon products are sold through 6 million
active independent Avon Sales Representatives worldwide.
Avon products include color
cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and fashion and home, featuring
such well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, ANEW, Avon Care,
Skin-So-Soft, and Advance Techniques. Learn more about Avon and its products at
www.avoncompany.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR PURPOSES OF THE "SAFE HARBOR"
STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF
1995
Statements in this release that are not historical facts or
information may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as
"would" and similar expressions, or the negative of those
expressions, may identify forward-looking statements. They include,
among other things, statements regarding our anticipated or
expected results, future financial performance, various strategies
and initiatives (including our stabilization strategies, cost
savings initiatives, restructuring and other initiatives and
related actions), costs and cost savings, competitive advantages,
impairments, the impact of foreign currency devaluations and other
laws and regulations, government investigations, internal
investigations and compliance reviews, results of litigation,
contingencies, taxes and tax rates, potential alliances,
acquisitions or divestitures, liquidity, cash flow, uses of cash
and financing, hedging and risk management strategies, pension,
postretirement and incentive compensation plans, supply chain and
the legal status of our Representatives. Such forward-looking
statements are based on management's reasonable current
assumptions, expectations, plans and forecasts regarding the
Company's current or future results and future business and
economic conditions more generally. Such forward-looking statements
involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the
actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievement of
Avon to be materially different
from any future results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements, and there can be no assurance that
actual results will not differ materially from management's
expectations. Such factors include, among others, the
following:
- our ability to improve our financial and operational
performance and execute fully our global business strategy,
including our ability to implement the key initiatives of, and/or
realize the projected benefits (in the amounts and time schedules
we expect) from, our stabilization strategies, cost savings
initiatives, restructuring and other initiatives, product mix and
pricing strategies, enterprise resource planning, customer service
initiatives, sales and operation planning process, outsourcing
strategies, Internet platform and technology strategies including
e-commerce, marketing and advertising strategies, information
technology and related system enhancements and cash management,
tax, foreign currency hedging and risk management strategies, and
any plans to invest these projected benefits ahead of future
growth;
- the possibility of business disruption in connection with our
stabilization strategies, cost savings initiatives, or
restructuring and other initiatives;
- our ability to reverse declining revenue, margins and net
income, particularly in North
America, and to achieve profitable growth, particularly in
our largest markets, such as Brazil, and developing and emerging markets,
such as Mexico and Russia;
- our ability to improve working capital and effectively manage
doubtful accounts and inventory and implement initiatives to reduce
inventory levels, including the potential impact on cash flows and
obsolescence;
- our ability to reverse declines in Active Representatives, to
enhance our sales Leadership programs, to generate Representative
activity, to increase the number of consumers served per
Representative and their engagement online, to enhance branding and
the Representative and consumer experience and increase
Representative productivity through field activation programs and
technology tools and enablers, to invest in the direct-selling
channel, to offer a more social selling experience, and to compete
with other direct-selling organizations to recruit, retain and
service Representatives and to continue to innovate the
direct-selling model;
- general economic and business conditions in our markets,
including social, economic and political uncertainties in the
international markets in our portfolio, such as in Russia and Ukraine, and any potential sanctions,
restrictions or responses to such conditions imposed by other
markets in which we operate;
- the effect of economic factors, including inflation and
fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates,
as well as the designation of Venezuela as a highly inflationary economy and
the devaluation of its currency, the availability of various
foreign exchange systems including limited access to SICAD
II or the introduction of new exchange systems in
Venezuela, foreign exchange
restrictions, particularly foreign currency restrictions in
Venezuela and Argentina, and the potential effect of such
factors on our business, results of operations and financial
condition;
- any developments in or consequences of investigations and
compliance reviews, and any litigation related thereto, including
the investigations and compliance reviews of Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act ("FCPA") and related United
States ("U.S.") and foreign law matters in China and additional countries, as well as any
disruption or adverse consequences resulting from such
investigations, reviews, related actions or litigation, including
the retention of a compliance monitor as required by the deferred
prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and a
consent to settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, any changes in Company policy or procedure suggested by
the compliance monitor or undertaken by the Company, the duration
of the compliance monitor and whether and when the Company will be
permitted to undertake self-reporting, the Company's compliance
with the deferred prosecution agreement and whether and when the
charges against the Company are dismissed with prejudice;
- a general economic downturn, a recession globally or in one or
more of our geographic regions, or sudden disruption in business
conditions, and the ability of our broad-based geographic portfolio
to withstand an economic downturn, recession, cost inflation,
commodity cost pressures, economic or political instability,
competitive or other market pressures or conditions;
- the effect of political, legal, tax and regulatory risks
imposed on us in the U.S. and abroad, our operations or our
Representatives, including foreign exchange, pricing, data privacy
or other restrictions, the adoption, interpretation and enforcement
of foreign laws, including in jurisdictions such as Brazil, Russia, Venezuela and Argentina, and any changes thereto, as well as
reviews and investigations by government regulators that have
occurred or may occur from time to time, including, for example,
local regulatory scrutiny in Venezuela;
- the impact of changes in tax rates on the value of our deferred
tax assets, and declining earnings, including the amount of any
domestic source loss and the amount, type, jurisdiction and timing
of any foreign source income (which may be impacted by foreign
currency movements), on our ability to realize foreign tax credits
in the U.S.;
- competitive uncertainties in our markets, including competition
from companies in the consumer packaged goods industry, some of
which are larger than we are and have greater resources;
- the impact of the adverse effect of volatile energy, commodity
and raw material prices, changes in market trends, purchasing
habits of our consumers and changes in consumer preferences,
particularly given the global nature of our business and the
conduct of our business in primarily one channel;
- our ability to attract and retain key personnel;
- other sudden disruption in business operations beyond our
control as a result of events such as acts of terrorism or war,
natural disasters, pandemic situations, large-scale power outages
and similar events;
- key information technology systems, process or site outages and
disruptions, and any cyber security breaches, including any
security breach of our systems or those of a third-party provider
that results in the theft, transfer or unauthorized disclosure of
Representative, customer, employee or Company information or
compliance with information security and privacy laws and
regulations in the event of such an incident which could disrupt
business operations, result in the loss of critical and
confidential information, and adversely impact our reputation and
results of operations, and related costs to address such malicious
intentional acts and to implement adequate preventative measures
against cyber security breaches;
- the risk of product or ingredient shortages resulting from our
concentration of sourcing in fewer suppliers;
- the impact of any significant restructuring charges or
significant legal or regulatory settlements on our ability to
comply with certain covenants in our debt instruments;
- any changes to our credit ratings and the impact of such
changes on our financing costs, rates, terms, debt service
obligations, access to lending sources and working capital
needs;
- the impact of our indebtedness, our access to cash and
financing, and our ability to secure financing or financing at
attractive rates;
- the impact of possible pension funding obligations, increased
pension expense and any changes in pension standards and
regulations or interpretations thereof on our cash flow and results
of operations;
- our ability to successfully identify new business
opportunities, strategic alliances and strategic alternatives and
identify and analyze alliance and acquisition candidates, secure
financing on favorable terms and negotiate and consummate alliances
and acquisitions, as well as to successfully integrate or manage
any acquired business;
- disruption in our supply chain or manufacturing and
distribution operations;
- the quality, safety and efficacy of our products;
- the success of our research and development activities;
- our ability to protect our intellectual property rights;
and
- the risk of an adverse outcome in any material pending and
future litigation or with respect to the legal status of
Representatives.
Additional information identifying such factors is contained in
Item 1A of our 2013 Form 10-K, as updated by our Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014, and other reports and documents
we file with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to update any such
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.