France Telecom Sticks to Dividend, Opposes Workers Plan
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France Telecom SA Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard is opposing a proposal by workers to cut the 2011 dividend, saying that shareholders deserve an unchanged payout of 1.40 euros ($1.83) a share.
“I see no logical reason, whether economic or political, why we should deprive our shareholders of this return,” Richard said in an interview in Paris. “Our results in 2011 have given us the financial ability to pay 1.40 euros per share.” The company, which operates the Orange mobile-phone service, paid the same dividend a year earlier.