Dividend FAQs

Dividends are payments made by Shire to you as a shareholder. Dividends are paid twice yearly usually in April and October. A dividend is paid on each share, so the amount you receive depends on the number of shares you own and the dividend declared. To receive the dividend, your name must be on the share register on the record date. If you purchase shares on or after the ex-dividend date, the declared dividend will be paid to the previous owner as the trade will not have settled by the record date, and the previous owner will still be showing on the register of members on the record date.

Shire’s policy is to pay a dividend semi-annually, declared in US cents per share/ADS, with the first interim payment in each year being maintained at a consistent level. Any growth will result from increasing the second interim dividend in a financial year. Shire intends to pursue a progressive dividend policy.

Shire will announce dividends in USD and GBP based on exchange rates around the time that the Board resolves to pay the dividend.

Holders of ordinary shares will be paid in GBP and ADR holders will be paid in USD.

The functional currency of Shire is the USD. This is Shire’s primary reporting currency and the currency basis on which Shire is managed. It is therefore logical that Shire’s dividend also be measured in USD.

The record date determines which shareholders will be entitled to the declared dividend. Persons registered as shareholders on the record date will be paid the declared dividend even if they have already sold all or some of their Shire shares.

Before announcing each dividend, and in consultation with the London Stock Exchange, a date is set upon which Shire’s shares will be sold without entitlement to the dividend. This is known as going ex-dividend. If you purchase a share before the ex-dividend date you are entitled to receive the declared dividend. If you purchase shares on or after the ex-dividend date, the declared dividend will be paid to the previous owner as the trade will not have settled by the record date, and the previous owner will still be showing on the register of members on the record date. The record date is currently two days after the ex-dividend date.

The payment of dividends is at the Board’s discretion and dependent on the Company’s performance but the present intention is that dividends will be paid semi-annually.

First interim: announced end of July or early August and paid in October
Second interim: announced in February and paid in April.

Please visit our dividend section.

Please visit our dividend history page.

At present Shire does not have a dividend reinvestment plan.

Shareholders are able to choose how they receive their dividends:
directly into their bank account* or by cheque.

*Shire’s preferred option: The quickest and most efficient way to receive your dividends is to have them paid directly into your bank account. Those selecting this payment method receive a tax voucher with each payment.

Ordinary shareholder

If you are an Ordinary shareholder please complete the request for payment of dividend form and forward it to Equiniti (Jersey) Limited (as stated on the form).

Dividend payments direct to your bank/building society account (77 Kb PDF)

ADR holders

Please contact Citi's Shareholder Services or visit the ADR Holders Guide for further information.

How a dividend is taxed will depend on the shareholder’s territory of residence and specific circumstances. This can be a complex area and we advise shareholders to consult their professional advisors.

Shareholders who elect, or are deemed to have elected, to receive their dividends via the IAS arrangements will receive their dividends from a UK source (rather than directly from the Company which is an Irish tax resident company) for UK tax purposes.

Shareholders who hold 25,000 or fewer shares (i) on the date of admission of the Company to the London Stock Exchange, being May 23, 2008, and (ii) in the case of shareholders who did not own shares at that time, on the first dividend record date after they became shareholders in the Company, unless they elect otherwise, will be deemed to have elected to receive their dividends under the IAS arrangements.

Shareholders who hold more than 25,000 shares and who wish to receive their dividends from a UK source must make an IAS election. All elections remain in force indefinitely unless revoked.

Unless shareholders have made an IAS election, or are deemed to have made an IAS election, dividends will be received from an Irish source and will be taxed accordingly.

Download the Dividend Election Form (18 Kb PDF)

Dividends received from the Company

Any dividends paid by the Company directly will be subject to Irish dividend withholding tax of 20% unless an exemption applies under Irish domestic tax law and provided that the Company has received all necessary documentation required by the relevant legislation from the shareholder prior to payment of the dividend.

Individual shareholders who are (ordinarily) resident in the UK will generally be subject to UK income tax on the gross amount of any dividends paid by the Company before deduction of any Irish tax withheld.

Shareholders may also, depending on their individual circumstances, be able to claim a credit for any Irish withholding tax deducted. For further information on dividend withholding tax and about what declarations are required to be made in particular circumstances, shareholders should contact Equiniti.

Dividends received via the Income Access Share (IAS) arrangements

Any dividends paid via the income access share arrangements will not be subject to any withholding tax.

Individual shareholders who are (ordinarily) resident in the UK will generally be entitled to a tax credit on dividends received by the IAS arrangement.

If you are a UK resident shareholder and are not a higher rate taxpayer, your tax credit will offset your income tax liability on the aggregate of the net dividend and the tax credit (gross dividend) in full.

If you are a UK resident shareholder and a higher rate taxpayer, you will be liable for additional tax liability on the gross dividend.

If you are a UK resident shareholder not liable to UK tax on dividends (eg: pensions funds, charities, holder of a Personal Equity Plan) you will not be able to claim repayment of your tax credit attaching to your dividends.

If you are a UK resident corporate shareholder, you will not normally be liable to corporation tax in respect of a UK dividend and not able to claim repayment of tax credits for that dividend.

Shareholders should contact Equiniti for further information on tax on dividends received via the IAS arrangement.

Ordinary Shareholders

You should contact Equiniti or your financial adviser.

ADR Holders

You should contact Citibank Shareholder Services or your financial adviser.

Ordinary shareholders

You should contact Equiniti as soon as possible, confirming the payment or voucher has been lost. For cheques, they will arrange for the old cheque to be stopped and will issue you with a duplicate which could be subject to an administration fee.  Please visit Equiniti’s Shareview FAQs  for further information, details and associated administration fees with obtaining either a duplicate cheque or tax voucher.

To avoid any further loss, you may wish to consider arranging for the dividend to be paid directly into your bank account, which can be done by completing the Dividend payments direct to your bank/building society account form.

ADR holders

Please visit the dividend section of our ADR Holders Guide for further information. 

Ordinary shareholder

Cheques should remain valid for 12 months from the date of issue. Please send any out of date cheques to Equiniti, with a request that they issue a replacement cheque. There will be an administration charge for issuing replacement dividend cheques for payments over £30.00.
 
ADS shareholder

Please contact Citi's Shareholder Services either by phone or by e-mail.

For Investor Relations queries please call:

North America: Eric Rojas
Tel: +1 617 551 9715
Email: erojas@shire.com

Europe: Sarah Elton-Farr
Tel: +44 1256 894 157
Email: seltonfarr@shire.com

Other queries should be directed to:

Ordinary shareholders

Shire’s Registrar, Equiniti can be contacted by telephone or in writing as follows:

Telephone:
Shareholder helpline
In the UK: Tel: 0871 384 2553*
From overseas: Tel: +44 (0)121 415 7047

*Calls to this number are charged at 8p per minute from a BT landline. Other telephone providers' charges may vary.

In writing:
Shire Shareholder Services
Equiniti (Jersey) Limited
PO Box 63
11-12 Esplanade
St Helier
Jersey JE4 8PH

ADR Holders

Citibank, N.A. is Shire’s ADR Depositary bank.
Citibank can be contacted via telephone, by email or in writing as follows:

Telephone:

Toll free within the United States at: 1-877-Citi-ADR (1-877-248-4237)†
International Number: +1-781-575-4555†

†Citibank representatives are available from 8:30am to 6:00pm US Eastern Standard Time (EST) Monday to Friday

By email:
Citibank@shareholders-online.com

In writing:
Citibank Shareholder Services
P.O. Box 43077
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-3077
USA


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