AUGUST 6--Cognex Corp. (Natick, MA: www.cognex.com) has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share. This is the first cash dividend declared by the company in its 22-year history. The dividend is payable on September 19, 2003, to all shareholders of record at the close of business on August 29, 2003.
"This dividend demonstrates the confidence that the board of directors has in Cognex's business and in its prospects for the future," says Robert J. Shillman, Cognex chief executive officer and chairman. "Given the recent change in the federal tax laws lowering the tax on dividends to 15%, cash dividends are attractive to shareholders. And, given that Cognex has a strong balance sheet...with more than $280 million in cash and investments and no debt, we can afford to pay this dividend while, at the same time, we continue to invest in both R&D and in acquisitions to grow our company."
Cognex Corp. designs, develops, manufacturers, and markets machine-vision systems and has shipped to date more than 175,000 machine-vision systems since the company's founding in 1981.
