The Walt Disney Co restored the dividend as it defended itself after an activist fund revived its attempt to appoint its founder to the company's board.
The Los Angeles, California-based multi-media business was responding to a statement released by Nelson Peltz, founding partner of Trian Partners, relating to Disney and its board.
The New York-based fund, which owns a $3 billion stake in Disney, said in a statement on Thursday that it intends to take its "case for change directly to shareholders" after Disney chief executive Bob Iger again turned down Trian's request for board representation.
Last February, Peltz called off a previous attempt to join the Disney board after the company announced a restructuring plan.
On Wednesday, Disney appointed two new directors, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) chair and chief executive James Gorman and former Sky executive Jeremy Darroch.
But Trian said the appointments "will not, in our view, restore investor confidence or address the root cause behind the significant value destruction and missteps that this board has overseen.”
In response, Disney said it has "a proven track record of delivering long-term value to our shareholders and is in the midst of a significant transformation to reinforce our position as the world's preeminent entertainment company."
It said it restructured the company to restore creativity to the centre of all its businesses and is on track to achieve about $7.5 billion in cost savings - $2 billion more than the original target.
The company also declared a dividend of 30 cents a share for the second half of its financial year, following through on a pledge to restore the payout, which was halted during the pandemic.
Disney talked of achieving significant and sustained profitability in its streaming business, building ESPN into the preeminent digital sports platform, improving the output and economics of its film studios and turbocharging growth in Experiences.
"With one of the strongest balance sheets in the media sector, Disney expects free cash flow to approach pre-Covid levels in fiscal 2024, and the board and management are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring Walt Disney Co's long-term success for the benefit of all our shareholders," it said.
Disney pointed out that Peltz is operating in partnership with Isaac Perlmutter, a former Disney executive.
"This dynamic is relevant to assessing Peltz and any other nominees he may put forth as directors, as Perlmutter was terminated from his employment by Disney earlier this year and has voiced his longstanding personal agenda against Disney's CEO, Robert Iger, which may be different than that of all other shareholders."