Fortis Investor Relations has advised:
Good evening,
Thank you for contacting Investor Relations at Fortis Inc.
This notice went out through our CDS yesterday, January 31st, for distribution.
The new rate will be $0.3418125 per Series K Share, payable quarterly on the first day of March, June, September and December of each year during the five-year period from and including March 1, 2024 to but excluding March 1, 2029; and payable if, as and when declared by the board of directors.
As a reminder, holders of Series K pref shares have until February 15, 2024 to provide notice of their election to convert their Series K shares to Series L shares.
Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
Regards,
Investor Relations
The new rate implies a GOC-5 rate of 3.419%, which is consistent with the PPL.PR.C reset.
FTS.PR.K was issued as a FixedReset, 4.00%+205, that commenced trading 2013-7-13 after being announced 2013-7-9. It reset to 3.929% effective 2019-3-1, after some confusion. I recommended against conversion and there was no conversion. The issue is tracked by HIMIPref™ but relegated to the Scraps – FixedResets (Discount) subindex on credit concerns. and has been assigned to the FixedReset (Discount) subindex since its upgrade to Pfd-2(low) by DBRS.
The little sweethearts believe that informing CDS is good enough.
Update, 2024-2-2: I have received the following communication from FTS Investor Relations, after chiming in on an investor complaint about their secrecy:
Good morning [REDACTED],
Thank you for contacting Investor Relations at Fortis Inc.
You can find the rate reset information on our website under Investor Relation > Preference Shares. Below is the direct link to the notice in question that is dated January 31st.
Notice for Series K Rate Resets
Please let us know if you have any further questions. We appreciate your feedback and will take it into consideration going forward.
Regards,
Investor Relations
Thank you, James. I got exactly the same response (word for word) as you (ooo, they can cut and paste!). But apparently, some of those words ring hollow. Specifically, “Please let us know if you have any additional questions.”.
As part or my original request to know the new dividend rate (the nerve of me!), I also asked:
“why can this information not simply be posted in the news releases section of your website, which what virtually all other companies who have preferred share issues do?”
I got no response. But, as a dumb, scum-sucking retail investor, I suppose I should consider myself lucky that they responded at all.
Hi James. Your credit concerns apply to all FTS preferreds?
Your credit concerns apply to all FTS preferreds?
Oops! The perils of copy-pasting late at night!
The FTS issues were moved to the main indices after the DBRS upgrade.
I have amended the post.