FEI Company Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend; Announces Plans For Facility Expansion In The Czech Republic

FEI Company announced that its board of directors approved the initiation of quarterly cash dividends to its shareholders and declared the first cash dividend in FEI's history. A quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share of common stock will be paid on July 24, to all shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 11. The timing and amounts of future dividends are subject to determination and approval by the Company's board. FEI also announced plans to consolidate and expand its manufacturing capacity by entering into a build-to-suit arrangement to construct a new facility in Brno, Czech Republic. The new facility will include approximately 270,000 square feet with options for expansion and will be used for manufacturing, research and development and administration. It will be approximately twice the size of the existing operation in Brno. The facility will be leased with a minimum commitment of 10 years with multiple options to extend or terminate. It will replace three different currently-leased buildings. The new operation will be in the CTPark-Brno II, located about 12 kilometers from the current site. FEI expects to begin operations in the new building in early 2014 with full operations by the end of that year. FEI plans to spend approximately $35 million, mainly in 2013, to fit-out the building with clean rooms, equipment and office space.