Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) Declares $1.3212 Special Dividend; 7.9% Yield; Amends Dividend Policy

Melco Crown Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL) declared a special dividend of $1.3212 per share. The dividend will be payable on February 10, 2017, to stockholders of record on January 23, 2017, with an ex-dividend date of January 19, 2017. The annual yield on the dividend is 7.9 percent.

Amendment of Dividend Policy:

To reaffirm MCE’s commitment to returning surplus capital to shareholders, MCE announced today that our Board, after evaluating the Company’s current liquidity position and future expected capital needs, has amended our quarterly dividend policy from one based on approximately 30% of consolidated net income attributable to the Company to one targeting a quarterly cash dividend payment of US$0.03 per ordinary share (equivalent to US$0.09 per American depositary share (“ADS”), each representing three ordinary shares) of the Company, providing a larger, stable and more predictable ordinary dividend payout to shareholders.

Lawrence Ho, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, “We want to make certain that we efficiently utilize investor capital. We currently have a significant level of free cash and more than US$1.2 billion available credit lines. MCE also continues to generate very significant operating cash flow. Given these factors, we believe that we can return a meaningful amount of capital to investors now, and in the future, while still retaining significant flexibility to pursue value accretive opportunities.”

The new dividend policy will take effect beginning with any dividends declared by our Board for the fourth quarter of 2016 and continue until amended or otherwise determined by our Board. Distribution of dividends under this new dividend policy is subject to the Company’s accumulated and future earnings, cash availability and future commitments.

Our Board will continue to review from time to time our Dividend Policy as part of our commitment to maximizing shareholder value, taking into consideration our financial performance and market conditions.

For a dividend history and other dividend-related data on Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) click here.

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