CHARLOTTE, Mich., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAR)
today announced its board of directors has approved a special cash dividend of $0.06 per share on the Company’s common stock.
The special dividend, the second issued by the Company this year, is payable on November 25, 2002 to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 25, 2002.
The Charlotte, Mich.-based manufacturer of custom motor home chassis, fire truck chassis and emergency vehicles also paid a special dividend of $0.10 per share in June 2002. Spartan Motors has boosted Company-issued dividends in 2002 to $0.16 per share, a 129 percent increase from last year’s special cash dividend of $0.07 per share. Spartan Motors has paid a special cash dividend in each of the past 14 years.
Spartan Motors also announced that its board of directors intends to implement a regular dividend, to be paid twice a year, beginning in the second quarter of 2003. Spartan Motors plans to set the payout rate and announce the record/issue dates for the regular dividend in early 2003.
“Spartan’s performance over the last two years has enabled us to eliminate long-term debt, improve operations and quality, and put the Company in a strong position for continued growth,” said John Sztykiel, chief executive officer of Spartan Motors. “The board’s decision to increase distributions to shareholders reflects its confidence in the future, as well as the continued commitment to provide substantive value to shareholders.
“We remain optimistic about the balance of 2002, and continue to focus on generating income and building long-term value. We are confident our core markets will grow over the next decade, given demographic trends and municipal needs in emergency-rescue. We intend to outpace the growth in these markets and build our market share by sharpening our focus on customer service and stepping up our development of custom vehicles in order to become the most desired brand and the lowest total cost producer in our market niches.”
About Spartan Motors, Inc.
Spartan Motors, Inc. (theshyftgroup.com ) is a leading developer and manufacturer of custom chassis for motorhomes, fire trucks, ambulances and other specialty vehicles. The Company also owns three fire and rescue vehicle manufacturers, Luverne Fire Apparatus and Quality Manufacturing, and ambulance maker Road Rescue, Inc.
The statements contained in this news release include certain predictions and projections that may be considered forward-looking statements by the securities laws. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting the Company’s operations, markets, products, services and prices, and actual results may differ materially.
Source: Spartan Motors, Inc.
CONTACT: John Sztykiel, CEO of Spartan Motors, Inc., +1-517-543-6400;
Jeff Lambert or Ben Buursma of Lambert, Edwards & Associates, Inc.,
+1-616-233-0500, [email protected] , for Spartan Motors, Inc.
Web site: https://theshyftgroup.com/