AXIS Capital Announces Increase in Quarterly Dividend and Additional Share Repurchase Authorization.PEMBROKE, Bermuda -- AXIS Capital Holdings Limited ("AXIS Capital") (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AXS AXS Access AXS Anomalous X-Ray Scattering AXS Alpha Chi Sigma AXS Alpha X-Ray Spectrometer AXS Activex Script ) announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company to engage in two capital management initiatives. The Board has approved a 20% increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.15 per common share. The dividend will be payable on April 14, 2005, to the shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2005. In addition, the Board has approved the additional repurchase of up to $150 million of common shares authorized under the Company's share repurchase plan share repurchase plan A corporation's plan for buying back a predetermined number of its own shares in the open market. Institution of a share repurchase plan derives from management's view that the company has limited outside investment opportunities and . AXIS Capital recently completed a $350 million share repurchase from two of its founding shareholders. This repurchase from founding shareholders exhausted the share repurchase plan authorized by the Board in December 2004. The repurchases are expected to be effected from time to time in open market or privately negotiated transactions, depending on market conditions. The share repurchase plan is currently authorized to continue until December 2006. AXIS Capital is a Bermuda-based global provider of specialty lines insurance and treaty reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. with shareholders' equity at December 31, 2004 in excess of $3.2 billion and locations in Bermuda, the United States, Europe and Singapore. Its operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of "A" ("Excellent") by A.M. Best and a rating of "A" ("Strong") by Standard & Poor's. AXIS Capital has been assigned a senior unsecured debt rating of Baa1 (stable) by Moody's Investors Service Moody's Investors Service A leading global credit rating, research and risk analysis firm. Moody's Investors Service A leading firm engaged in credit rating, risk analysis, and research of fixed-income securities and their issuers. and BBB BBB A medium grade assigned to a debt obligation by a rating agency to indicate an adequate ability to pay interest and repay principal. However, adverse developments are more likely to impair this ability than would be the case for bonds rated A and above. + (stable) by Standard & Poor's. For more information about AXIS Capital, visit the Company's website at www.axiscapital.com. |
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