Roche profits rise, payout level prompts M&A questions

[riky]

Roche profits rise, payout level prompts M&A questions

<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/roche-profits-rise-payout-level-prompts-m-questions-123614428--finance.html"><img src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/obYEmiuH12zT9jgvqqG_Cg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9NzU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-01-30T123614Z_1_CBREA0T0Z0W00_RTROPTP_2_ROCHE-RESULTS.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="The logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is seen outside their headquarters in Basel" align="left" title="The logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is seen outside their headquarters in Basel" border="0" /></a>By Caroline Copley BASEL (Reuters) - Roche offered shareholders a lower-than-expected dividend payout after reporting an 18 percent rise in full-year net profit, potentially a sign the Swiss pharmaceuticals group might be keeping its cash for deals. Roche - the world's largest maker of cancer drugs - has a track record of solid profit growth prompting expectations of a more generous dividend, share buyback or M&amp;A. It said on Thursday it planned to pay a dividend of 7.80 Swiss francs per share, up 6 percent over the previous year, and would keep hiking payouts. But this fell short of the mean estimate of 7.98 Swiss francs in a Reuters poll. Roche's reluctance to offer a sweetener to shareholders in the form of a special dividend or stock buyback contrasts with cross-town rival Novartis, which announced a $5 billion share buyback programme last year.</p><br clear="all"/>

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