Continental Group, a German supplier of components, said recently that the company will pay dividends in view of its profit growth in 2011. This means that Continental has paid dividends for the first time in four years.

Continental Group announced that it would pay an annual dividend of 1.5 euros (about 2 US dollars) per share, far exceeding the average expected value of the industry analysts.

It is reported that Continental Group’s 2011 net profit more than doubled year-on-year, reaching as high as 1.25 billion euros (approximately 1.66 billion US dollars), and net profit in 2010 was 576 million euros (approximately 761 million US dollars).

The Continental Group stated that it will spend a total of 300 million euros (about 400 million U.S. dollars) to pay dividends, accounting for 24% of net profit.