NEW YORK (Commodity Online): Beverages major, PepsiCo has approved a plan to increase cash returns to shareholders by raising company’s annual dividend and its share repurchase authorization amount. In an announcement made today, the company stated that its board of directors had approved a plan for the same.

The company stocks opened with a sharp rise on the New York Stock Exchange and traded at USD 66.14 up by over 1.5% from its previous closing.

PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said, "From 2005 through 2009, we distributed over USD 26 billion to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The board's action reflects continued confidence in the growth of our business and our commitment to providing strong cash returns to our shareholders."



The board of directors of PepsiCo approved a 7% increase in the annual dividend on PepsiCo common stock, from the current annual rate of USD 1.80 to USD 1.92 per share, its 38th consecutive increase.

The increase will take effect when the board declares the next quarterly common stock dividend, which is currently expected to be paid on June 30, 2010 to shareholders of record on June 4, 2010.

The board of directors also authorized the repurchase of up to USD 15 billion of PepsiCo common stock through June 2013.

As previously stated, PepsiCo made a USD 600 million voluntary pension contribution earlier this year and anticipates repurchasing approximately USD 4.4 billion of common stock in 2010. A portion of that amount will be executed under a previous repurchase authorization from 2007. That authorization had USD 6.4 billion remaining at the start of the year and expires in June 2010.

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