BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, January 9, 2003 -- The Board of Directors of The Adams Express Company declared a dividend and announced the Company's performance in 2002.
DIVIDEND DECLARED
Adams Express declared a dividend of $.05 per share, payable March 1, 2003, to stockholders of record, February 19, 2003. The $.05 consists of $.01 of investment income from 2003, $.01 of investment income from 2002, and $.03 of long-term capital gain realized in 2002.
2002 PERFORMANCE
The fund outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and underperformed the return of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. For the twelve months ended December 31, the total return on Adams press' net asset value, after adjusting for income dividends as well as capital gains distributions paid, was -19.4 percent. Comparable figures for the S & P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were -22.1 percent and -15.0 percent, respectively.
NET ASSET VALUE ANNOUNCED
The net asset value of Adams Express at the end of 2002 is compared with the prior year in the following table:
12/31/02 |
12/31/01 |
|
Net assets |
$1,024,810,092 |
$1,368,366,316 |
Shares outstanding |
84,536,250 |
85,233,262 |
Net assets per share |
$12.12* |
$16.05 |
*After capital gains distributions of $0.57 per share paid in 2002.
The Annual Report will be released on or about February 21, 2003.
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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For further information please contact:
Joseph M. Truta, President
Lawrence L. Hooper, Jr., Vice President, Secretary & General Counsel
(410) 752-5900 or (800) 638-2479
E-mail: contact@adamsexpress.com
Website: www.adamsexpress.com
For your convenience, all press releases are posted to our website. If you would like to receive future press releases by fax or e-mail, please let us know.