Telus 2007 Annual Report Download - page 33

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33
Competition is also intense in other areas as TELUS continues its growth into emerging
markets such as Web hosting and application services and human resource process
outsourcing. TELUS took a significant step forward in the advancement of its growth
strategy in 2007 with the decision to acquire Emergis, a transaction completed on
January 17, 2008. (See “Corporate Developments”.) Emergis specializes in managed
services for the healthcare and financial services industries where it faces competition
from large systems development and integration companies such as IBM as well as
smaller focused software providers. These industries are two important areas of potential
growth for TELUS Business Solutions. The acquisition of Emergis is expected to enable
TELUS to further enhance its reputation as an organization that understands these
industries and can deliver innovative solutions to increase their efficiency and the service
they provide to Canadians.
DIVIDENDS DECLARED
The dividends per Common Share and Non-Voting Share declared with respect to each
quarter by TELUS, during the three-year period ended December 31, 2007, are shown
below.
Quarter ended (1) 2007 2006 2005
March 31 $0.375 $0.275 $0.20
June 30 $0.375 $0.275 $0.20
September 30 $0.375 $0.275 $0.20
December 31 $0.45 $0.375 $0.275
(1) Paid on the first business day of the next month.
TELUS’ Board of Directors reviews its dividend rate quarterly. On November 2, 2007,
TELUS announced that it was increasing its dividend to $0.45 per share on the issued and
outstanding Common and Non-Voting Shares. This 20 per cent increase was consistent
with the Company’s forward-looking dividend payout ratio guideline of 45 to 55 per cent of
sustainable net earnings first set in October 2004. TELUS’ quarterly dividend rate will
depend on an ongoing assessment of free cash flow generation and financial indicators
including leverage, dividend yield and payout ratio.
CAPITAL STRUCTURE OF TELUS
The authorized capital of TELUS consists of 4,000,000,000 shares, divided into: 1)
1,000,000,000 Common Shares without par value; 2) 1,000,000,000 Non-Voting Shares
without par value; 3) 1,000,000,000 First Preferred shares without par value and; 4)
1,000,000,000 Second Preferred shares without par value. The Common Shares and
Non-Voting Shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Non-
Voting Shares are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange. See “Market for
Securities”.
TELUS Common Shares and TELUS Non-Voting Shares
Subject to the prior rights of the holders of First Preferred shares and Second Preferred
shares, the Common Shares and the Non-Voting Shares are entitled to participate
equally with each other with respect to the payment of dividends and the distribution of
assets of TELUS on the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of TELUS.