Barely break-even profits won't break the 35-year string of dividend enhancements at Nucor. The nation's largest minimill steel maker and biggest recycler of steel scrap hiked its quarterly common payout 9.4% Tuesday, to 35 cents a share from 32 cents. Stockholders of record Dec. 31 will receive the new disbursement Feb. 11; the ex-dividend date is Dec. 29. Nucor's base dividend has more than tripled in the past year and is up about tenfold since 2000. For nearly four years, Nucor (NUE) also paid a bonus dividend every quarter. No more. The last one (20 cents) went out Nov. 11. The company, which is based in North Carolina, said in a press release that "with today's unsettled economic conditions, the board believes it is important to maintain Nucor's extremely strong financial position and strategic flexibility." Moreover, Nucor said, it wants to continue its "long history of taking advantage of economic downturns to expand [its] long-term earnings power."

One of the world's largest big-rig truck manufacturers, Paccar , declared a special 10-cent-a-share dividend Tuesday, along with its regular 18-cent quarterly payout. The company has paid 15 bonus dividends since the mid-1990s. However, the latest is only 10% of last year's $1. In addition, Paccar (PCAR), which has handed out dividends without interruption since 1943, had hiked regular payouts an average of 20% annually in the 10 years through 2007. CEO Mark C. Pigott said in a statement that the extra dividend reflects Paccar's good performance, "yet also recognizes the very difficult global truck markets experienced in the fourth quarter of 2008 and projected into 2009." The 103-year-old Bellevue, Wash., company's premium global truck brands include Peterbilt, Kenworth and DAF. The distribution, record and ex dates for the special payout are Jan. 5, Dec. 19 and Dec. 17. The regular dividend goes out in March.

Village Super Market operates some two dozen ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and apparently operates them quite well. Net in its first fiscal quarter (ended Oct. 31) surged 49%, to 97 cents a share, from the level a year earlier, while same-store sales rose 4.2%. A week ago, debt-free Village sweetened its quarterly Class A common dividend for the fourth time this year, to a pre-split 37 cents a share, up 12% from 33 cents, giving the stock a 2.96% yield. It's payable Jan. 22 to holders of record Dec. 29 with an ex-date of Dec. 24. Village distributed a $3 special dividend in April. The company also declared a 2-for-1 stock split for the same payment and record dates but with a Jan. 23 ex-date. Its stock (VLGEA), which trades on Nasdaq, recently was quoted at 50.