The Howden Joinery Group's dividend policy is to target a dividend cover of between 2.5x and 3.0x, with one third of the previous year's dividend being paid as an interim dividend each year.
The Board has recommended to shareholders a final dividend of 9.1p (2018: 7.9p), giving a total dividend for the year of 13.0p (2018: 11.6p), an increase of 12.1%. This equates to a dividend cover of 2.7x (2018: 2.7x).
Other financial highlights include:
The final dividend payment of 9.1p per share will, if approved by shareholders, be paid on 19 June 2020, with an ex-dividend date of 21 May 2020 and a record date of 22 May 2020.
Howden Joinery UK depot revenue increased by 4.9% to £1,550.3m (up 2.5% on a same depot basis2). Group revenue was £1,583.6m (2018: £1,511.3m);
Gross profit margin of 62.3% (2018: 61.7%), reflected a price increase in January 2019 and a more disciplined balance between volume and price achieved in depots;
Profit before tax was £260.7m (2018: £238.5m);
A further £85m share repurchase programme to take place over the next two years.
