Briscoe Group, the homeware and sporting goods retailer, will pay a special dividend of 10 cents a share, generating a windfall of about $16.7 million for managing director and controlling shareholder Rod Duke.
The dividend will be paid on June 28 to investors on the register at the close of trading on June 14, the company said in a statement. Interests associated with Duke own 78 per cent of the retailer, which has about 214 million shares on issue.
Shares of Briscoe rose 2.6 per cent to $1.60 after the announcement. The stock has gained 14 per cent this year, outpacing a 9.4 per cent in an NZX index of consumer stocks.
Last week the company reported a 6.5 per cent gain in first-quarter sales while warning that full-year revenue may be flat because last year's result was inflated by Rugby World Cup turnover in the second half.
Sales at the retailer, whose brands include the Briscoe, Rebel Sport and Living and Giving, rose to $102.5 million in the three months ended April 29, from $96.3 million a year earlier. Homeware revenue rose 5.7 per cent to $66.1 million, and sporting goods sales climbed 7.8 per cent to $36.4 million.
