Lancaster Colony raises dividend for 57th consecutive year

Lancaster Colony Corporation (LANC) will increase its dividend by almost 8 percent this year.

The food products maker will raise its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share, marking 57 years of dividend increases.

The company is one of only 13 U.S. companies with 57 straight years of regular cash dividend increases.  The dividend will be payable December 31, 2019 to shareholders of record on December 6, 2019.  As of the record date for today's annual shareholder meeting, there were 27,492,982 common shares outstanding.


Voting at the annual meeting, shareholders reelected three incumbent directors.  They are David A. Ciesinski, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lancaster Colony, Kenneth L. Cooke, former President and Chief Operating Officer of Intermedix Corporation, and Alan F. Harris, retired Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Customer Officer of Kellogg Company.  The shareholders also elected to the board Barbara L. Brasier, retired Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Herc Rentals, Inc., replacing Zuheir Sofia, who is retiring from the board after serving as a director for the past 21 years.

CEO David A. Ciesinski said, "The increased regular cash dividend reflects the company's continued strong financial position and will be the 226th consecutive quarterly cash dividend paid by the company since September 1963."  He noted that the indicated annual payout for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 is $2.75 per share, up from the $2.55 per share paid in fiscal 2019.

Lancaster Colony Corporation is a manufacturer and marketer of specialty food products, including salad dressings, sauces, fruit dips, frozen breads and rolls, noodles, caviar, wraps and pizza crusts.