MADISON, Wis., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliant Energy Corp. announced today that the Board of Directors has approved an increase in the company's quarterly common stock dividend from $0.2625 per share to $0.2875 per share, which is equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.15 per share. The Board declared the first quarter dividend payable on February 15, 2006, to shareowners of record on January 31, 2006. Dividends on common stock have been paid for 241 consecutive quarters since 1946.
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"The Board is pleased to announce this dividend increase," said Bill Harvey, president and chief executive officer of Alliant Energy. "This increase is a step toward our previously stated policy of targeting a dividend payout ratio of 60 to 70 percent of utility earnings and reflects our confidence in the sustainability of the improvements we have made in the financial profile of the company."
"We understand the importance of providing shareowners with a strong return on their investments," Harvey added. "So it's quite satisfying to raise the quarterly dividend by almost 10 percent while remaining committed to meeting the ongoing capital requirements of the company and growing our earnings."
Alliant Energy Corporation is an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving more than three million customers. Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated electricity and natural gas service remains the company's primary focus. Alliant Energy's domestic utility subsidiaries, Interstate Power and Light and Wisconsin Power and Light, serve 982,000 electric and 416,000 natural gas customers. Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.alliantenergy.com/ .
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