Law Debenture Corp PLC Dividend Declaration (0672J)
December 17 2020 - 11:10AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMLWDB
RNS Number : 0672J
Law Debenture Corp PLC
17 December 2020
The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c.
Third Interim Dividend Announcement - Law Debenture remains
confident of at least maintaining 2019 full year dividend level of
26.0p
-- Declaring a third interim dividend of 6.5 pence per ordinary share payable in January 2021
-- It remains the Board's current intention for the full year
2020 dividend to be at least equal to 2019 dividend of 26.0 pence
per share
-- Dividend Yield is currently 4%
The UK economy has seen significant economic fluctuations in
2020, brought about by both the Covid-19 pandemic and the
uncertainty over the outcome of Brexit negotiations. Despite these
significant headwinds, Law Debenture's unique structure has been
beneficial, allowing our investment managers increased flexibility
in portfolio construction at a time when other Equity Income Trusts
may have been forced to chase yield.
We entered 2020 with the strongest reserves position 1 within
the UK Equity Income sector(2) with the Group's retained earnings
of GBP62.5m(3) , and a professional services business that has
funded 35% of our dividends to shareholders over the preceding 10
years 4 and resulted in us having the strongest five-year dividend
growth in our peer group 5 . As demonstrated by our H1 results, our
Independent Professional Services business continues to show its
resilience despite the challenging market conditions. The
combination of this diversification of income and the strength of
our reserves provides us with a genuine competitive advantage over
other equity income trusts when forming our dividend policy.
It remains our intention to pay a dividend for the full year
2020 to be at least equal to the 2019 dividend of 26.0 pence per
ordinary share. We have listened to our shareholders who are
seeking regular, reliable income and recently transitioned to a
quarterly dividend cycle. This comes at a time when the recipients
of those dividends may be increasingly reliant on that income,
particularly in light of the large number of quoted companies who
have announced cuts to their dividends in order to protect the long
term future of their businesses.
With this in mind, we have declared a third interim dividend of
6.5 pence per ordinary share in respect of the year ending 31
December 2020. This dividend will be paid on 28 January 2021 to
shareholders registered at the close of business on 29 December
2020. The Corporation's shares will go ex-dividend on 24 December
2020. Based on the Corporation's current share price, that implies
a dividend yield of 4%.(6)
Shareholders will be asked to vote on a final dividend to be
paid in April 2021 at the Corporation's 2021 AGM. It continues to
be the Board's current intention to recommend the final dividend
payment be at least 6.5 pence per share.
Law Debenture Corporate Services Limited
Corporate Secretary
17 December 2020
Contact:
Tulchan Communications
David Allchurch
Lawdebenture@tulchangroup.com
+44 (0)777 193 7173
About Law Debenture
Company History:
From its origins in 1889, Law Debenture has diversified to
become a group with a unique range of activities in the financial
and professional services sectors. The group has two distinct areas
of business.
Investment Portfolio:
Our portfolio of investments is managed by James Henderson and
Laura Foll of Janus Henderson Investors.
Our objective is to achieve long term capital growth in real
terms and steadily increasing income. The aim is to achieve a
higher rate of total return than the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index
Total Return through investing in a diversified portfolio of
stocks.
Independent Professional Services:
We are a leading provider of independent professional services,
built on three excellent foundations: our Pensions, Corporate Trust
and Corporate Services businesses. We operate globally, with
offices in the UK, New York, Ireland, Hong Kong, Delaware and the
Channel Islands.
Companies, agencies, organisations and individuals throughout
the world rely upon Law Debenture to carry out our duties with the
independence and professionalism upon which our reputation is
built.
The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c. is registered in England at
8(th) Floor, 100 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AG, company registration
number 30397. The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c. LEI number -
2138006E39QX7XV6PP21
(1) Investec Securities analysis from 30 March 2020, based on
Group Revenue Return, including professional services fees.
(2) AIC UK Equity Income Sector.
(3) The Corporation's retained earnings were GBP62.5m as at 1
January 2020.
(4) Calculated on an annualised basis on dividend payments in
respect of accounting years between 1 January 2010 and 31 December
2019.
(5) Peel Hunt Law Debenture Initiation of Coverage 5 October
2020
(6) Based on closing share price on 16 December 2020 of 654.0
pence per share and a dividend of 26.0 pence per share.
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END
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