CMS Energy's Board of Directors Increases Quarterly Dividend on Common Stock by 20 Percent, to 15 Cents Per Share, and Declares Dividend on Preferred Stock

JACKSON, Mich., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of CMS Energy increased today the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock by 20 percent, to 15 cents per share, up from 12.5 cents per share.

The first quarter dividend for the common stock (CUSIP: 125896100) is payable Feb. 26, 2010 to shareholders of record on Feb. 8, 2010.

David Joos, CMS Energy's president and chief executive officer, said the Board's decision to increase the dividend for the third consecutive year was based on the company's improving financial strength and the fundamental soundness of its business strategy.

"Over the next five years, we plan to invest more than $6 billion in our utility operations. Our plan calls for making substantial investments to improve customer service and in other key areas, primarily energy efficiency, renewable energy, and new power generation," Joos said.

"As we implement our investment plan and grow our earnings, we expect to continue to increase our payout ratio, though at a slower pace than recent years in light of our aggressive capital investment plan."

The Board of Directors also declared a quarterly dividend of 56.25 cents for the company's 4.50 percent cumulative convertible preferred stock, Series B (CUSIP:  125896878). It is payable March 1, 2010 to shareholders of record on Feb. 15, 2010.

CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) is a Michigan-based company that has an electric and natural gas utility, Consumers Energy, as its primary business and also owns and operates independent power generation businesses.

For more information on CMS Energy, please visit our web site at:  www.cmsenergy.com

SOURCE CMS Energy

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