Old Republic Declares Regular First Quarter Cash Dividend Of 20.00 Cents Per Share

CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE: ORI) has declared a quarterly cash dividend on the common stock of 20.00 cents per share. This dividend is payable March 15, 2019 to shareholders of record on March 5, 2019. Subject to Board approval of each quarter's new rate, the full year's cash dividend will amount to 80 cents per share compared to 78 cents paid in 2018.

This latest dividend increase marks the 38^th consecutive year that Old Republic has boosted its cash dividend rate, and 2019 becomes the 78^th year of uninterrupted cash dividend payments.

About Old Republic

Chicago-based Old Republic International Corporation is one of the nation's 50 largest publicly held insurance enterprises. It is a member of the Fortune 500 listing of America's largest companies. Its most recent financial statements reflect consolidated assets of approximately $19.32 billion and common shareholders' equity of $5.14 billion, or $17.23 per share. Its current stock market valuation is approximately $6.39 billion, or $21.12 per share.

The Company is organized as an insurance holding company whose subsidiaries actively market, underwrite, and provide risk management services for a wide variety of coverages mostly in the general and title insurance fields. A long-term interest in mortgage guaranty and consumer credit indemnity coverages has devolved to a run-off operating mode in recent years. Old Republic's general insurance business ranks among the nation's 50 largest, while its title insurance operations are the third largest in its industry.

The nature of Old Republic's business requires that it be managed for the long run. For the 25 years ended in 2018, the Company's total market return, with dividends reinvested, has grown at a compounded annual rate of 9.9% per share. For the same period, the total market return, with dividends reinvested, for the S&P 500 Index has grown at a 9.1% annual compound rate. During those years, Old Republic's shareholders' equity account, inclusive of cash dividends, has risen at an average annual rate of 8.9% per share, and the regular cash dividend has grown at an 8.5% annual compound rate.

According to the most recent edition of Mergent's Dividend Achievers, Old Republic is one of just 100 qualifying companies, out of thousands considered, that have posted at least 25 consecutive years of annual dividend growth. Moreover, Old Republic has paid a cash dividend without interruption since the World War II year of 1942 (78 years), and it has raised the annual cash dividend pay-out for each of the past 38 years.

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SOURCE Old Republic International Corporation