It's a Miracle! Eurotunnel Pays a Dividend

Looking for some good news amid all the doom and gloom? Here's some, from a most unexpected quarter.

Eurotunnel, the infamously troubled company that operates the rail tunnel between Britain and France, has declared the first quarterly dividend in its 23-year history.

As recently as 2007, Eurotunnel teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, suffering as it had for many years with crushing debts run up while digging the twin-bore tunnel under the English Channel. It avoided insolvency then only when its creditors agreed to swap debt for equity in a newly listed company.

Still, the enterprise posted its first profit as a result, and now is prepared to pay its first dividend: four euro cents.

"The year 2008 clearly marks the end of financial uncertainty for Eurotunnel," chairman and chief executive Jacques Gounon said in a statement. "Through its efficiency and the control of its costs, the group has recorded a solid profit which, for the first time in our history, allows us to pay a dividend to our loyal shareholders."

Loyal they must be: Despite the good news, Eurotunnel shares have lost three-fourths of their value since last April, even after jumping 15 percent today to close at 3.23 euros in Paris.

by Mark Stein