Stepan Company (SCL) will raise its quarterly dividend by 14.3 percent to $0.32 per share in the fourth quarter of 2012. This follows a 7.7 percent dividend hike to 28 cents quarterly last year.

The increased dividend is payable on December 14, 2012, to common stockholders of record on November 30, 2012. The ex-date for this next dividend of 32 cents is November 28, 2012.

Stepan Company and its subsidiaries produce specialty and intermediate chemicals, which are sold to other manufacturers and used in a variety of end products. The Company has three reportable segments: Surfactants, Polymers and Specialty Products. Surfactants are the basic cleaning agent in detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, fine fabrics, floors and walls and are also used in personal care products and commercial and industrial applications. Polymers are used in the manufacture of construction materials, coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE) applications. Specialty Products are chemicals used in food, flavoring, nutritional supplement and pharmaceutical applications. Stepan, headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, operates production facilities located in North and South America, Europe and Asia.