Financial News

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — The board of directors of AmerisourceBergen on Tuesday increased the company’s quarterly dividend rate 12% to $0.235 per common share from $0.21 per common share.

AmerisourceBergen shares were up 23 cents to $67.13 in mid-morning trading on Wednesday. 

The quarterly dividend of $0.235 per common share will be payable Dec. 2, 2013, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 18, 2013.

NEW YORK — Hallmark Cards will lay off up to 250 people and drop its party wares line as sales for the category decline, according to published reports.

The Kansas City Star reported that the layoffs equalled more than 7% of the company's 3,200 jobs in the Kansas City, Mo., area, out of about 12,000 employees worldwide.

MALVERN, Pa. — Endo Health Solutions will acquire Canadian drug maker Paladin Labs for $1.6 billion, mostly in shares of stock, Endo said Tuesday.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Tuesday posted October sales of $6.4 billion, an increase of 6.1%. Sales in comparable stores increased by 5.8% in October. 

Prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased by 5.7% in October and increased 6.2% on a calendar day-shift adjusted basis. This year’s October had one additional Thursday and one fewer Monday compared with October 2012. These calendar shifts negatively impacted prescriptions filled at comparable stores by 50 basis points.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway on Monday announced that it has completed the sale of the net assets of Canada Safeway to Sobeys, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Co.

Proceeds from the transaction of $3.8 billion in cash after taxes and expenses and between $400 and $450 million in U.S. tax benefits related to the exit of the Chicago market will be used to pay down $2 billion of debt, with the majority of the remainder to be used to buy back stock. In addition, some of the proceeds may be used to invest in growth opportunities, Safeway reported.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix on Friday posted sales for third quarter 2013 of $7 billion, representing a 5.6% increase. Comparable-store sales for third quarter 2013 increased 4.1%. 

Publix's sales for the first nine months of 2013 were $21.6 billion, a 5.2% increase from last year's $20.5 billion. Comparable-store sales for the first nine months of 2013 increased 3.4%. 

NORWELL, Mass. — Carex Health Brands announced the acquisition of the ThermiPaq Hot & Cold Therapy brand along with other associated assets from Thermionics Corp.

HYDERABAD, India — Indian drug maker Dr. Reddy's Labs had sales of $536 million in second-quarter 2014 and profits of $110 million, the company said.

Those figures represented sales growth of 17% and a 76% growth in profits over second quarter 2013. Seventy-nine percent of the company's sales came from generic drugs, including 50% from sales in North America; sales of generics grew by 32% over last year.