MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 2012--
Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) today announced a 6.25% increase in its
quarterly common stock dividend to 17 cents per share from 16 cents per
share. The increased dividend is payable September 14, 2012, to
shareholders of record August 31, 2012. The new annual dividend rate for
the common stock is 68 cents per share.
“This is our twentieth consecutive year of increased dividend payments.
The increase reflects our ongoing commitment to our shareholders and our
continued confidence in the future of Badger Meter,” said Richard A.
Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer.
About Badger Meter
The core competency of Badger Meter is flow measurement solutions. The
company is a leading innovator, manufacturer and marketer of flow
measurement and control products, serving water and gas utilities,
municipalities and industrial customers worldwide. Measuring a variety
of liquids from water to oil and lubricants in industrial processes, the
company’s products are known for their high degree of accuracy,
long-lasting durability and their ability to provide valuable and timely
measurement information to customers.
Certain statements contained in this news release, as well as other
information provided from time to time by Badger Meter, Inc. (the
“Company”) or its employees, may contain forward looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. The
words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “think,” “should,”
“could” and “objective” or similar expressions are intended to identify
forward looking statements. All such forward looking statements
are based on the Company’s then current views and assumptions and
involve risks and uncertainties. Some risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in forward looking statements include those
described in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2011 that include, among other things:
-
the continued shift in the Company’s business from lower cost,
manually read meters toward more expensive, value-added automatic
meter reading (AMR) systems, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)
systems and the advanced metering analytics (AMA) systems that offer
more comprehensive solutions to customers’ metering needs;
-
the success or failure of newer Company products;
-
changes in competitive pricing and bids in both the domestic and
foreign marketplaces, and particularly in continued intense price
competition on government bid contracts for lower cost, manually read
meters;
-
the actions (or lack thereof) of the Company’s competitors;
-
changes in the Company’s relationships with its alliance partners,
primarily its alliance partners that provide AMR/AMI connectivity
solutions, and particularly those that sell products that do or may
compete with the Company’s products;
-
changes in the general health of the United States and foreign
economies, including to some extent such things as the length and
severity of global economic downturns, the ability of municipal water
utility customers to authorize and finance purchases of the Company’s
products, the Company’s ability to obtain financing, housing starts in
the United States, and overall industrial activity;
-
the timing and impact of government programs to stimulate national
and global economies;
-
changes in the cost and/or availability of needed raw materials and
parts, such as volatility in the cost of brass castings as a result of
fluctuations in commodity prices, particularly for copper and scrap
metal at the supplier level, foreign-sourced electronic components as
a result of currency exchange fluctuations and/or lead times, and
plastic resin as a result of changes in petroleum and natural gas
prices;
-
the Company’s expanded role as a prime contractor for providing
complete AMR/AMI/AMA systems to governmental entities, which brings
with it added risks, including but not limited to, the Company’s
responsibility for subcontractor performance, additional costs and
expenses if the Company and its subcontractors fail to meet the
timetable agreed to with the governmental entity, and the Company’s
expanded warranty and performance obligations;
-
the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses
or products;
-
changes in foreign economic conditions, particularly currency
fluctuations in the United States dollar, the Euro and the Mexican
peso;
-
the loss of certain single-source suppliers; and
-
changes in laws and regulations, particularly laws dealing with the
use of lead (which can be used in the manufacture of certain meters
incorporating brass housings) and the United States Federal
Communications Commission rules affecting the use and/or licensing of
radio frequencies necessary for AMR/AMI/AMA products.
All of these factors are beyond the Company’s control to varying
degrees. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are
urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward
looking statements contained in this news release and are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements. The
forward looking statements made in this document are made only as of the
date of this document and the Company assumes no obligation, and
disclaims any obligation, to update any such forward looking statements
to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Badger Meter company news is available
24 hours a day, on-line
at: http://www.badgermeter.com.
Source: Badger Meter, Inc.
Badger Meter, Inc.
Joan C. Zimmer, (414) 371-5702