By Chris Holbrook, 21 December 2000 11:40
NEWS The telephone operator will reduce its dividend from 22 cents to 3.75 cents a share per quarter, beginning in 2001. The move is part of an ongoing company reorganisation to reduce $62bn of debt and split the firm into four companies. AT&T made the announcement at its monthly board meeting yesterday. AT&T said sales growth would slow to the lowest level in nearly two years, mainly through the erosion of interest in its long-distance phone business. C Michael Armstrong, chairman of AT&T, said in a press release: "While we did not make this decision lightly, we believe it is necessary and in the best long-term interests of our shareowners to adopt a dividend policy comparable to the policies of our competitors." AT&T's battered stock price was hammered still further after the announcements, sliding as low as $17 per share on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's shares have lost about 70 per cent of their value, after hitting a 52-week high of $61 in April.
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