MONROE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2004--CenturyTel, Inc.
(NYSE:CTL) today announced it has completed the $400 million share
repurchase program authorized by its board of directors in February of
this year. Under the program, CenturyTel
repurchased approximately
13.4 million shares of its common stock, or nearly 9.3 percent of
shares outstanding at December 31, 2003, at an average price of $29.91
per share.
"Including the dividend approved by the board today, CenturyTel
will return more than $430 million to shareholders during 2004 through
its repurchase program and cash dividends," Glen F. Post III, chairman
and chief executive officer, said.
The Company also announced that its board of directors voted to
declare a quarterly cash dividend of $.0575 per share, payable on
December 17, 2004, to shareholders of record on December 3, 2004.
CenturyTel, Inc.
provides communications services including local,
long distance, Internet access and data services to customers in 22
states. The company, headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, is publicly
traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CTL, and is
included in the S&P 500 Index. CenturyTel
is the 8th largest local
exchange telephone company, based on access lines, in the United
States. Visit CenturyTel
at www.centurytel.com.
CONTACT: CenturyTel Inc.
, Monroe
Media: Patricia Cameron, 318-388-9674
patricia.cameron@centurytel.com
or
Investors: Tony Davis, 318-388-9525
tony.davis@centurytel.com
SOURCE: CenturyTel, Inc.