Mullen, Contrans Boosting Dividends

Two Canadian trucking companies, Mullen Group and Contrans Group, said they will boost dividend payments.

Mullen will boost its annual dividend to C$1.20 per share from C$1, and Contrans will raise its 2013 quarterly dividend by 25% to C12.5 cents per share.

Mullen will start paying the annual dividend monthly rather than quarterly, and said it made the decisions based on the expectation of generating more funds than the amount needed to pay for capital investment, taxes and interest.

Mullen also announced a capital budget of C$80 million for 2013, with a majority of the funds going toward acquiring trucks, trailers and specialized equipment.

Mullen Group is ranked No. 51 and Contrans Group is ranked No. 63 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.