Recent articles for private investors with a focus on dividend announcements
Astra Zeneca Q3 results
As expected, third quarter revenue declined due to the ongoing impact from products with recent losses of exclusivity. The 4 percent decline in revenue on a constant currency basis, combined with continued investment in our growth platforms and scientific leadership resulted in a greater decline in Core earnings per share. The late-stage pipeline continued to grow; since the half year update there have been three new Phase III programme starts and three regulatory filings were accepted for review.
BT increases 2014 interim dividend by 13%
Gavin Patterson, Chief Executive Officer, commenting on the results, said:
BG Group Q3 Results
CEO, Chris Finlayson, said: "Earnings in the quarter were down 4% to $1.1 billion, largely as a result of lower volumes in both the Upstream and LNG segments. The primary driver for the decline in Upstream volumes is the US, where BG Group has reduced its rig count in line with its strategy of pursuing value over volume. We will see production recover in the fourth quarter with the completion of our North Sea maintenance shutdowns and new projects coming onstream, most notably Jasmine."
Royal Dutch Shell increases 2013 Q3 dividend by 5%
* Royal Dutch Shell's third quarter 2013 earnings, on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis (see Note 1), were $4.2 billion compared with $6.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago. * Third quarter 2013 CCS earnings excluding identified items (see page 5) were $4.5 billion compared with $6.6 billion in the third quarter of 2012. * Compared with the third quarter 2012, CCS earnings excluding identified items were impacted by significantly weaker industry refining conditions, increased Upstream operating expenses and exploration expenses, as well as production volume impacts from maintenance and asset replacement activities. Earnings also reflected the impact of the challenging operating environment in Nigeria and lower dividends from an LNG venture. This was partly offset by higher contributions from Chemicals and increased underlying Upstream production volumes, led by Integrated Gas. * Basic CCS earnings per share excluding identified items decreased by 32% versus the third quarter 2012. * Cash flow from operating activities for the third quarter 2013 was $10.4 billion, compared with $9.5 billion in the same quarter last year. Excluding working capital movements, cash flow from operating activities for the third quarter 2013 was $9.9 billion, compared with $11.7 billion in the third quarter 2012. * Capital investment for the third quarter 2013 was $9.7 billion. Net capital investment (see Note 1) for the quarter was $9.4 billion. * Total dividends distributed in the quarter were $2.8 billion, of which $1.2 billion were settled under the Scrip Dividend Programme. During the third quarter some 45.5 million shares were bought back for cancellation for a consideration of $1.5 billion. * Gearing at the end of the third quarter 2013 was 11.2%. * A third quarter 2013 dividend has been announced of $0.45 per ordinary share and $0.90 per American Depositary Share ("ADS"), an increase of 5% compared with the third quarter 2012.
BP increases 2013 Q3 dividend 5.5% in dollar terms.
BP's third-quarter replacement cost (RC) profit was $3,178 million, compared with $4,534 million a year ago. After adjusting for a net charge for non-operating items of $522 million and net favourable fair value accounting effects of $8 million (both on a post-tax basis), underlying RC profit for the third quarter was $3,692 million, compared with $5,017 million for the same period in 2012. For the nine months, RC profit was $22,174 million, compared with $9,419 million a year ago. After adjusting for a net gain for non-operating items of $11,536 million and net favourable fair value accounting effects of $19 million (both on a post-tax basis), underlying RC profit for the nine months was $10,619 million, compared with $13,219 million for the same period last year. RC profit or loss for the group, underlying RC profit or loss and fair value accounting effects are non-GAAP measures and further information is provided on pages 3, 19 and 21.
Investors Chronicle dividend of the week - 28/10/2013
This week we are going to continue to be sector based and have a look at the support services sector in the U.K. This is one of the largest sectors and has an interesting array of companies. Our initial selection criterion is the support services sector and this throws up some thirty four companies that are covered by DividendMax.
Glaxo increases 2013 Q3 dividend by 6%
Summary
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Broadly-based sales growth with Group turnover +1% CER:
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Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines sales flat: US +2%, Europe +5%, Japan +2% offset by EMAP -9%, impacted by decline in China sales and Vaccines phasing
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Consumer Healthcare +4%
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Total Group turnover ex-divestments +1%
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Further significant pipeline approvals and filings:
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4 approvals; US: Tivicay for HIV and FluLaval Q-IV vaccine for flu; Europe: Tafinlar for metastatic melanoma; Japan: Relvar Ellipta for asthma
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Positive FDA Adcom recommendation for Anoro Ellipta in COPD and positive CHMP opinion for Relvar Ellipta in asthma & COPD
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3 FDA filings: Arzerra for first-line CLL; dolutegravir-Trii for HIV; fluticasone furoate monotherapy for asthma
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Continued delivery of operating and financial efficiencies, strong cash generation and returns to shareholders:
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Net cash inflow from operating activities of £2.1 billion; core tax rate 23.5%
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Core EPS 28.9p (+16%) benefiting from operating, financial and long-term cost efficiencies
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Q3 dividend: 19p (+6%)
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£1 billion of shares repurchased by the end of Q3; continue to target £1-2 billion for the year
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Successful implementation of measures to drive strategic focus and improve growth outlook:
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Agreement to divest Lucozade and Ribena to Suntory for £1.35 billion and Arixtra/Fraxiparine and related manufacturing site to Aspen for £700 million
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Full year 2013 guidance reaffirmed:
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Core EPS growth of 3-4% on sales growth of around 1% (both CER)
Investors Chronicle dividend of the week - 14/10/2013
Investors Chronicle – Dividend of the week – Number fifteen
Ted Baker increases 2013 interim dividend by 20.3%
Group Revenue
£155.2m
£118.6m
30.9%
Profit Before Tax, Bonus provision and Exceptional Costs
£12.5m
£9.4m
33.0%
Profit Before Tax and Exceptional Costs
£11.6m
£9.4m
24.3%
Profit Before Tax
£11.6m
£7.8m
49.7%
Adjusted Basic EPS
20.2p
16.8p
20.2%
Basic EPS
20.2p
13.9p
45.3%
Interim Dividend
9.5p
7.9p
20.3%
Tesco holds 2013 interim dividend at 4.63p
£1.6bn trading profit - reflecting good progress in UK and challenges in Europe
James Halstead increases 2013 final dividend by 9.1%
Revenue slightly reduced at £217.1 million (2012: £226.3 million) - down 4.1%
Profit before tax £41.2 million (2012: £42.7 million) - down 3.5%
Earnings per 5p ordinary share of 14.8p (2012: 14.7p) - up 1%
Final dividend per ordinary share proposed of 6.0p (2012: 5.5p) - up 9.1%
Strong cash inflow from operations of £42.1 million (2012: £37.3 million)
Nil net gearing
Investors Chronicle dividend of the week - 30/09/2013
Investors Chronicle – Dividend of the week – Berkeley Group holdings
Premier Farnell maintains 2013 interim dividend at 4.4p
FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS- Group H1 sales per day up 0.9% versus prior year. Sales excluding Raspberry Pi declined 1.4% as overall market conditions remain subdued.- Excluding Raspberry Pi, year on year sales growth was stable through the period in our main MDD business as Continental Europe, Asia Pacific and Emerging Markets offset weakness in North America and the UK.- Year on year sales growth trajectory in MDD Other and Industrial Products divisions slowed, primarily due to strong comparators last year.- Activity levels across the period reflected normal seasonality.- Operating margin improved through the period to 9.5% from adjusted Q4 levels of 9.2% reflecting initiatives to optimise business performance towards our targeted range.- Gross margin of 37.7% was down 0.3 percentage points from the fourth quarter but stabilised through the period.- Operating margin improvement came from management of costs and the benefit of the strategic efficiency actions taken at the end of the prior year.- The Group has made further progress with key initiatives that underpin the three pillars of our strategy.- Active customer base grew 2.7% (excluding benefit of Raspberry Pi).- New web platform implemented in Canada with roll-out across North America underway.- Investment in inventory continued in line with plans.- Sales of development tools and kits which are critical to early stages of design grew 42.0% year on year.- element14 Community now has 200,000 registered users globally.- Cash performance reflected our planned investment in inventory to further support customers' requirements as well as investments in Raspberry Pi and inventory for Akron Brass following a major contract win in India.- The Board has approved an interim dividend of 4.4p per share (2012/13: 4.4p).Commenting on the results, Laurence Bain, Chief Executive Officer, said:"Our core business has delivered a stable performance overall despite the mixed conditions that have impacted some developed markets such as North America and the UK. Focus on optimising performance saw the Group's industry leading operating margin improve from the levels experienced at the end of the prior year, making progress towards our targeted range.Our customer-centric strategy has attracted more customers to our business and provides the Group with greater opportunity as market conditions improve. Progress in the Emerging Markets, where sales growth outpaced our target, exemplifies this approach. We continue to enrich our customer proposition through investments in inventory and our new web platform, making good progress through the first half this year in the execution of these plans which are driving record levels of customer satisfaction and service performance. We remain confident in our ability to implement our strategic vision.Looking ahead to the second half, we continue to have limited forward order visibility and current market conditions remain variable.However, with our proposition benefitting from the first half inventory investments and initiatives taken to optimise business performance, we expect to continue to grow our active customer base, gain market share and drive financial performance."
City of London Investment Trust increases 2013 full year dividend by 4.1%
Net asset value total return of 23.8%.
Investors Chronicle dividend of the week - 16/09/2013
This week we are not going to use the DividendMax tools to produce long lists, shortlists, Optimised yields, etc, but I am just going to write about the world’s greatest company and why I think investors should tuck it away for the long term with near guaranteed high returns in both income and capital through consistently high dividend increases.
JD Wetherspoon maintains 2013 interim dividend
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
52 weeks to 28 July 2013
Before exceptional items
52 weeks to 28 July 2013
Excluding week 53
Ÿ Revenue £1,280.9m (2012: £1,197.1m)
+7.0%
+9.3%
Ÿ Like-for-like sales
+5.8%
Ÿ Operating profit £111.3m (2012: £107.3m)
+3.7%
+6.0%
Ÿ Profit before tax and exceptional items £76.9m (2012: £72.4m)
+6.3%
+8.8%
Ÿ Earnings per share (excluding shares held in trust) 46.8p (2012: 41.3p)
+13.3%
Ÿ Earnings per share (including shares held in trust) 44.8p (2012: 39.8p)
+12.6%
Ÿ Full year dividend 12.0p (2012: 12.0p)
Maintained
After exceptional items
Ÿ Operating profit £91.5m (2012: £93.8m)
-2.5%
Ÿ Profit before tax £57.1m (2012: £58.9m)
-3.0%
Ÿ Basic earnings per share 38.3p (2012: 35.6p)
+7.6%
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