Leftist Minister To Interrogate Peugeot Family Over Dividends. What Dividends?

The Peugeot family will receive an invitation from French industry minister Arnauld Montebourg, but not for tea and cookies. The minister "plans to summon members of the Peugeot family to explain why the car maker had continued to pay dividends even as it was facing mounting difficulties," Reuters says. PSA Peugeot Citroen said last week it would cut 8,000 jobs in France and close a plant in France in 2014. Currently, GM's alliance partner PSA hemorrhages some €200 million ($244 million) a month. As if that is not enough pain, the minister will turn the screws a bit more. Said the minister (who actually is "Minister of productive recovery", hype is alive and well) : "The Peugeot family has a number of things to explain to us and I will invite them to the ministry so that we can discuss them. Why were there certain financial operations at the time when Peugeot was already starting to experience difficulties, particularly dividend payments?" The Peugeot family most likely will have questions of its own. Such as: "Quels dividendes, Monsieur?" According to PSA's dividend schedule, the last time dividends were paid was for 2010, and that after a two year dividendless dry spell. "Given the Group's 2011 results" PSA's annual shareholders' meeting of 25 April 2012 voted "that no dividend be paid in respect of 2011." from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 680102