CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) today declared its annual variable dividend, amounting to $2.00 per share. The dividend is payable January 13, 2015, to shareholders of record on December 29, 2014, and follows a period in which September and October this year heralded buoyant volumes for the network of exchanges and derivatives marketplaces, followed by a minor downturn in volumes in November which still holds the company’s performance higher than the first nine months of the year.
When CME Group adopted its annual variable dividend structure in February 2012, the intention was to determine the excess cash available at the end of each year, with the level to increase or decrease from year to year based on operating results, potential investment activity and other forms of capital return.
The annual variable dividend of $2.00 per share to be paid in January 2015 totals more than $673 million. CME Group paid its first annual variable dividend in March 2012. Including today’today’s announced dividend, the company will have paid a total of more than $4 billion in quarterly and variable dividends since the beginning of 2012.
For the official announcement from CME, click here.