Disney must be raking in the dough, so much that they upped this years dividend by $0.03 or 14% of last years dividend. Too bad there wasn’t any money in the coffers to give better health care benefits to their themepark workers. This is going to make all the investors feel warm in their tummies, but agitate the union members who probably could have held out for some of that 14% raise themselves.
Also in the good news department, Disney has appointed an ‘independent’ (ie, not one of Eisner’s cronies) director to the board. Of course, with two steps forward Disney takes these days it looks like they’re taking a step back. In this case, Fred Langhammer, the former chief executive of cosmetics company Estee Lauder, gets bad grades in governance and compensation issues. Exactly the opposite type of person the board of directors needs right now with the Ovitz case still being litigated.
Plus ca change….