Libbey Suspends Quarterly Cash Dividend

Libbey Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors has determined to suspend the company's quarterly dividend in order to increase focus on debt reduction and continued investment in strategic initiatives. 

"We are encouraged by the momentum that the company has demonstrated in the past two quarters as we continue to make progress on key initiatives to improve our performance, and we remain committed to our 2018 guidance. The Board has been studying this issue for some time and based on their analysis, and numerous conversations with current and prospective investors, have taken this action. We expect this will further strengthen our balance sheet and enable us to continue to invest in strategic initiatives," said William Foley, Chairman and CEO of Libbey Inc.

In 2017, Libbey Inc. paid USD 10.4 million in cash dividends, while reducing net borrowings by USD 23.5 million largely through use of cash on hand. "We are modifying our capital allocation strategy to assign greater priority to debt reduction and continued investments in strategic initiatives that will improve our ability to increase long term shareholder returns," added Jim Burmeister, CFO of Libbey Inc. 

Based in Toledo, Ohio, Libbey Inc. is one of the largest glass tableware manufacturers in the world. Libbey Inc. operates manufacturing plants in the US, Mexico, China, Portugal and the Netherlands. In existence since 1818, the company supplies tabletop products to retail, foodservice and business-to-business customers in over 100 countries.