Harry M. J. Kraemer Jr., chairman and chief executive of Baxter International Inc., was bracing to get an earful from shareholders. Every Apr. 1 for more than 40 years, the medical-products company had mailed quarterly dividend checks to its shareholders. No more. Joining a growing roster of companies that includes Walt Disney Co. and McDonald's Corp., Baxter tossed tradition out the window early this year and switched to an annual payment schedule. Kraemer hasn't soothed all of the unhappy shareholders, but he believes they will be calmed by the savings— which are expected to exceed $1.5 million a year. "I would be very surprised if a majority of companies did not move to an annual dividend within four or five years," he predicts.
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机译：百特国际公司董事长兼首席执行官哈里·J·克雷默（Harry M. J. Kraemer Jr.）正竭尽全力吸引股东的注意。超过40年的每年4月1日，该医疗产品公司都向其股东邮寄了季度股息支票。不再。百特加入了包括沃尔特迪斯尼公司和麦当劳公司在内的越来越多的公司名册，今年年初，百特抛弃了传统，转而采用年度付款时间表。 Kraemer并没有抚慰所有不幸的股东，但他认为，储蓄将使他们平静下来。这些储蓄每年有望超过150万美元。他预测：“如果大多数公司在四到五年内没有获得年度股息，我会感到非常惊讶。”
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