|
July 8, 2004
THE ADAMS EXPRESS COMPANY DECLARES DIVIDEND AND REPORTS PERFORMANCE FOR SIX MONTHS ENDING JUNE 30, 2004
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, July 8, 2004 - The Board of Directors of The Adams Express Company today declared a dividend of $.05 per share, payable September 1, 2004, to stockholders of record August 17, 2004.
Performance
For the six months ended June 30th, the total return on Adams Express' net asset value, after adjusting for income dividends and capital gain distributions paid, was 3.8 percent. Comparable figures for the Standard & Poor's Index of 500 Stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 3.4 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
For the twelve months ended June 30, 2004, the total return on Adams Express' net asset value, after adjusting for income dividends as well as capital gain distributions paid, was 20.0 percent. Comparable figures for the Standard & Poor's Index of 500 Stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 19.1 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively.
Adams Express' net asset value at June 30, 2004, is compared with the year earlier in the following table:
Net Asset Value |
| |
6/30/04 |
6/30/03 |
Net assets |
$1,248,429,983 |
$1,082,405,702 |
Shares outstanding |
84,408,612 |
82,909,150 |
Net assets per share |
$14.79* |
$13.06 |
*After capital gain distributions of $0.02 per share paid in March 2004. |
Securities Transactions
During the three months ended June 30, 2004, the Company added two new names to its investment list with the purchases of Avaya Inc. and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. The Company increased its holdings in Bank of America Corp., Cree, Inc., Duke Energy Corp. (by conversion of the Duke Energy Corp. Convertible Preferred described below), Fifth Third Bancorp, Hospira Inc. (by spin-off from Abbott Laboratories), Lucent Technologies Inc., Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., and Wyeth Co.
Four issues were eliminated from the investment list with the sales of Affymetrix Inc., Nokia Corp. ADR, and TECO Energy, Inc., and the conversion of the Duke Energy Corp. 8.25% Conv. Pfd due 2004 into shares of Duke Energy Corp. common stock. The Company reduced its holdings in Albemarle Corp., Aqua America, Inc., BankNorth Group, Inc., Black & Decker Corp., Black Hills Corp., CINergy Corp., R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Genentech, Inc., Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson, Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings, Parker-Hannifin Corp., and Symantec Corp.
The Adams Express Company is a Baltimore-based closed-end investment company. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Pacific Exchange, and its symbol is ADX.
The Semi-Annual Report is expected to be released on or about July 30, 2004.
For further information, please contact:
Joseph M. Truta, President
Lawrence L. Hooper, Jr., Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
(410) 752-5900 or (800) 638-2479
E-mail: contact@adamsexpress.com
Website: www.adamsexpress.com
|
