TORONTO, Feb. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FirstService Corporation (TSX: FSV; NASDAQ: FSV) (“FirstService“) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a 10% increase in the quarterly cash dividend on the outstanding Common Shares of the Company over the previous US$0.15 per Common Share and declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.165 per Common Share. The dividend is payable on April 7, 2020 to holders of Common Shares of record at the close of business on March 31, 2020.
The Companyâs dividend will be US$0.66 on an annualized basis, up from US$0.60 over the past year. After a very active year of acquisitions during 2019 to further drive our growth and shareholder value, FirstService remains well-positioned with a conservative balance sheet and strong free cash flow to provide an incremental return to its shareholders. The Company has now delivered a fifth consecutive annual increase of 10% or more in its dividend, with cumulative 65% dividend growth over the five years since becoming a new public company.
The dividend on Common Shares is an “eligible dividend” for Canadian income tax purposes.
About FirstService Corporation
FirstService Corporation is a North American leader in the property services sector, serving its customers through two industry-leading service platforms: FirstService Residential, North America’s largest manager of residential communities; and FirstService Brands, one of North America’s largest providers of essential property services delivered through individually branded franchise systems and company-owned operations.
FirstService generates more than US$2 billion in annual revenues and has approximately 24,000 employees across North America. The Common Shares of FirstService trade on the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “FSV”.
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Forward-looking Statements
This press release includes or may include forward-looking statements. Much of this information can be identified by words such as âexpect to,â âexpected,â âwill,â âestimatedâ or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. FirstService believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements contemplated in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include: (i) general economic and business conditions, which will, among other things, impact demand for FirstServiceâs services and the cost of providing services; (ii) the ability of FirstService to implement its business strategy, including FirstServiceâs ability to acquire suitable acquisition candidates on acceptable terms and successfully integrate newly acquired businesses with its existing businesses; (iii) changes in or the failure to comply with government regulations; and (iv) other factors which are described in FirstServiceâs annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2018 under the heading âRisk factorsâ (a copy of which may be obtained at www.sedar.com) and Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (a copy of which may be obtained at www.sec.gov), and subsequent filings (which factors are adopted herein). Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change. All forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, we do not intend, nor do we undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect subsequent information, events, results or circumstances or otherwise.
COMPANY CONTACTS:
D. Scott Patterson
President & CEO
(416) 960-9500
Jeremy Rakusin
Chief Financial Officer
(416) 960-9500