Business Context and Reporting Period
This Form 8-K filing by Ball Corporation, dated January 25, 2002, reports significant corporate actions announced by the Board of Directors on January 23, 2002. The company is incorporated in Indiana and headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado.
Key Financial Metrics
The filing does not provide specific revenue, profit, cash flow, margin, debt, or liquidity figures. It focuses exclusively on capital structure adjustments and shareholder return initiatives.
Material Changes
- Stock Split: A two-for-one split of common stock was declared, effective February 22, 2002, for shareholders of record on February 1, 2002. This is the company's third split since 1972 and the first since 1985.
- Dividend Increase: The quarterly cash dividend was increased to 9 cents per post-split share (payable March 15, 2002). This represents a 20 percent increase over the previous quarterly dividend of 15 cents per pre-split share, which had been in place since 1994.
- Share Repurchase: The Board authorized the repurchase of up to 5 million post-split shares. Combined with 400,000 remaining pre-split shares from prior authorizations, the total repurchase authorization stands at 5.8 million post-split shares.
Guidance, Outlook, and Risks
The filing contains no forward-looking guidance, management commentary on operational outlook, or discussion of specific risks and contingencies beyond the mechanics of the announced corporate actions.
Key Facts for Investor Verification
- Verify the record date of February 1, 2002, for eligibility for the stock split.
- Confirm the effective date of the stock split is February 22, 2002.
- Note the dividend payment date of March 15, 2002, for shareholders of record on March 1, 2002.
- Track the total authorized share repurchase volume of 5.8 million post-split shares.