clxeixiical comer
instruments for research and quality control.
C&EN CHARTS Du Pont increased its year-end dividend this year and gave a lift to chemical stocks. The increase helped to run up the value of Du Pont stock to a new high for the year. And this, in turn, boosted C&EN's stock price index for the seven largest chemical companies to the highest level since early last year. Du Pont's year-end payment came to $3.00 a share, 75 cents more than last year, bringing its total for the year to $7.50. That's 50 cents more than the company has ever paid its stockholders. The increase stems largely from the 50-cent extra dividend
declared earlier last month by General Motors; Du Pont's policy has been to pass along income received from its 63 million shares of GM stock to its own stockholders. With industry earnings this year likely to be about the same as in 1960, however, most major chemical producers have kept their dividends at last year's level. Commercial Solvents hiked its quarterly rate by 5 cents to 20 cents a share, though (while dropping its year-end stock dividend to 1 % from the 2% paid in 1959 and 1960). And several drug makers have been more generous in
DIVIDEND YIELD Chemicals
PRICE-EARNINGS RATIO Chemicals
4.0
35
Percent
.
30
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ADVANCED OPTICS AND ELECTRONICS... SERVING SCIENCE
38
C&EN
DEC. 4, 1961
DJFMAMJJASOND
1 I I I I I I I I I I I I DJFMAMJJASOND
CASH DIVIDENDS-Chemical Industry Billions of Dollars 1.2
Source: Dept. of Commerce
This Week In Business the past month or two, among t h e m : Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Upjohn, Schering, Norwich Pharmacal, G. D. Searle, and Miles Laboratories. These increases assure the sett i n g this year of a new record for
cash dividends paid by the chemical industry. Payments so far are running about 2 % ahead of last year, and the Du Pont increase alone will add about $33 million to 1961's total. That points to payments topping last
DECEMBER
4,
1961
year's $ 1 . 0 4 billion by 4 or 5 % . Except for 1958, industry dividends have mounted steadily during the past decade. With earnings expected to improve, 1962 is likely to show an even stronger year-to-year gain.
C & E N INDEX OF STOCK PRICES CHEMICALS
January 1954 Opening Prices=100
DRUGS
550
550
500
500
400
400 ~s
498.3
NOV. 24 21 OTHERS
NOV. 24 300
300 267.0
267.0
SEC COMPOSITE INDEX
SEC COMPOSITE INDEX
200
200 BIG 7
150
150 1st Qtr. 1961
2nd Qtr.
3rd Qtr.
1st Qtr. 1961
4th Qtr.
PETROLEUM
RUBBER
550
550
500
500
2nd Qtr.
3rd Qtr.
4th Qtr.
434.0
400
400 NOV. 24
NOV. 24 300
300 267.0
SEC COMPOSITE INDEX
SEC COMPOSITE INDEX
"*
244.5
200
200
150
150 1st Qtr. 1961
2nd Qtr.
3rd Qtr.
4th Qtr.
1st Qtr. 1961
2nd Qtr.
3rd Qtr.
DEC.
4,
196 1
4th Qtr.
C & E N
39
