NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) announced today that the company's
Board of Directors declared a "very special" cash dividend of
$1.00/share, payable on
December 24, 2012 to all shareholders of record
at the close of business on
December 14, 2012.
"Cognex started giving dividends back in 2003, and since that time, we
have been reliably paying dividends each and every quarter. We decided
to pay dividends back then because the Bush-era tax cuts made giving
dividends a rather efficient way of sharing the company's success with
our shareholders. However, the company now believes that starting in
January, 2013 the federal tax on dividends will be increased
substantially. If that occurs, cash dividends will no longer be an
effective way of rewarding our shareholders," said Dr. Robert J.
Shillman, Chairman and Founder of Cognex.
Dr. Shillman continued, "Nevertheless, we will not let tax policy
interfere with our company's policy of sharing our success with our
shareholders. Therefore, instead of distributing quarterly dividends for
the next eight quarters commencing in 2013, we have decided to reward
our shareholders by prepaying, while the tax rate is still low, the
present value of our estimate of what those dividends would likely be if
the tax remained at the 15% level. We are able to do this because Cognex
has a very strong balance sheet with over $400 million in cash and
investments and no debt, and because we are confident in our company's
future."
About Cognex Corporation
Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and markets a range
of products that incorporate sophisticated machine vision technology
that gives them the ability to "see." Cognex products include barcode
readers, machine vision sensors and machine vision systems that are used
in factories, warehouses and distribution centers around the world to
guide, gauge, inspect, identify and assure the quality of items during
the manufacturing and distribution process. Cognex is the world's leader
in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 800,000
vision-based products, representing over $3 billion in cumulative
revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Headquartered in Natick,
Massachusetts, USA, Cognex has regional offices and distributors located
throughout North America, Japan, Europe, Asia and Latin America. For
details visit Cognex online at http://www.cognex.com.
Cognex Corporation
Susan Conway, 508-650-3353
Director of
Investor Relations
susan.conway@cognex.com
Source: Cognex Corporation
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