The Board of Directors of ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE) today declared a quarterly dividend of 0.30 Swiss Francs (CHF) per common share, payable on April 13, 2009, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2009, subject to a required filing with the Swiss Commercial Register. Dividend payments will be made by the company’s transfer agent in U.S. Dollars (USD) converted at the USD/CHF exchange rate shortly before the payment date. The CHF 0.30 dividend would be equivalent to USD 0.25 per common share based on the exchange rate as of February 25, 2009. Due to potential currency translation movements, the USD amount shareholders will actually receive may be more or less than that amount.
On July 14, 2008, the shareholders of the company approved a reduction to par value equal to CHF 0.90 per common share in the aggregate (equivalent at the time to USD 0.87 per common share), to be paid in three equal quarterly installments of CHF 0.30 (each equivalent at the time to USD 0.29 per common share). The quarterly dividend described above will be the third of these installments. The company’s par value is currently CHF 33.14 per share, and following this reduction the par value per share will be CHF 32.84. Pursuant to the current shareholder approval, quarterly payments may vary in USD based on relative currency movements, while the CHF 0.30 amount is fixed.
The Board of Directors also determined to recommend to shareholders at the 2009 Annual General Meeting a dividend via par value reduction based on a CHF equivalent of USD 1.24 on an annual basis, or USD 0.31 per quarter, representing an increase of USD 0.02 per quarter from the dollar-denominated dividend approved in 2008. The formula for determining the CHF amount for quarterly installments will be described in the company’s Proxy Statement that will be distributed in advance of the Annual General Meeting, scheduled for May 20, 2009.
The ACE Group of Companies is a global leader in insurance and reinsurance serving a diverse group of clients. Headed by ACE Limited, the ACE Group of Companies conducts its business on a worldwide basis with operating subsidiaries in more than 50 countries. Additional information can be found at: www.acelimited.com.