Briscoe Group raised its interim dividend for an 11th straight year as the retailer remains confident it can keep boosting profit and shareholder returns, despite flagging consumer confidence.
The board declared an interim dividend of 8 cents per share to be paid on October 11, up from 7.5 cents a year earlier. That amounts to $17.7 million of the company's $29.3m 2019 first-half net profit, which rose 2.7 per cent from a year earlier.
Briscoe paid $40.7m, or 19 cents per share, of dividends in the 2018 financial year compared to just $11.7m, or 5.5 cents, in 2009. Over that same period, annual profit has climbed to $61.3m from what was a trough of $11.6m in the wake of the global financial crisis and the last domestic recession. The shares hit a low of 60 cents in March 2009, and were recently at $3.48, representing a dividend yield of 7.5 per cent.
The retailer had already indicated profit would be up in the half on a 4.3 per cent increase in sales to $292.2m. Managing director Rod Duke, who owns more than three-quarters of the company, again noted the downturn in consumer activity.
"The economic outlook for the second half remains uncertain with flagging consumer confidence, increased industrial action, record-high fuel costs, increased wage pressures and a lower New Zealand dollar, all factors which will test retailers' ability to maintain margins," he said.
