Starbucks to start pouring dividends

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Starbucks will serve shareholders a cash dividend for the first time ever, the coffee chain announced Wednesday.

The Seattle-based company will payout a dividend of 10 cents per share on April 23 to investors on record when the market closes April 7.

Starbucks' (SBUX, Fortune 500) board of directors will have to approve the exact amounts of future quarterly dividends, but Starbucks said it plans to pay dividends valued between 35% and 40% of its net income.

The board also approved the repurchase of 15 million shares of the company's common stock, in addition to the 6.3 million shares it has remaining from an earlier buyback plan.

"We are confident in the overall financial strength of our business and the strong cash flow it continues to generate," said the company's chief financial executive Troy Alstead in a statement. "Starbucks' solid cash position and cash flow outlook enable the company to invest in future profitable growth through stores, innovation and new platforms,while also returning cash to our shareholders through the initiation of a dividend and future share repurchases."

In January, the coffee retailer posted a record profit of $241.5 million, or 32 cents per share, for its fiscal first quarter, which was nearly a four-fold rise from a year earlier.

Next month, the company will report its fiscal second-quarter earnings. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings to surge 50% to 24 cents per share compared to a year earlier.

Later Wednesday, Starbucks will holds its annual shareholders' meeting, when chief executive Howard Schultz will outline the company's future plans.

Shares of Starbucks spiked 1% in early trading.