Zimmer announces quarterly dividend and share buyback scheme

Zimmer has announced a new quarterly dividend and share repurchasing scheme, based on the strength of its recent financial performance.

The medical technology firm's board of directors has approved the payment of a dividend of $0.18 (0.11 pounds) to stockholders for the first quarter of 2012, which will be paid out on April 27th.

Meanwhile, the new share buyback scheme authorises purchases of up to $1.5 billion of common stock through to December 31st 2014, with the firm having around 179.2 million shares of common stock outstanding as of October 26th 2011.

This follows a period of operational success for Zimmer, with the company delivering significant shareholder value while moving ahead with key acquisitions of businesses such as Sodem Diffusion and ExtraOrtho.

David Dvorak, Zimmer's president and chief executive officer, said: "We are confident that the company will continue to generate sufficient cash to pursue targeted strategic acquisitions, while providing increased value for our stockholders through dividend and share repurchase programmes."

This follows the company's decision to sell $550 million of senior notes in an underwritten public offering last month.