Dividend
We are pleased that the recovery in dividend payments from the US market has flowed through, to allow an increase in the dividend of 13.6% to 12.5p per share for the full year. In order to provide shareholders with more frequent income payments, the Company paid an interim dividend this year of 5.0p on 8th October 2012. Subject to shareholder approval at the AGM, a final dividend of 7.5p will be paid on 8th May 2013 to shareholders on the register on 12th April 2013. For some years, the Company's dividend policy has been to distribute all, or most, of the available income in each year. This year's payment does not necessitate drawing on the Company's reserves. However, we do normally charge 80% of our costs to capital in line with our expected long term split of revenue and capital returns from the Company's investments.
Shareholders should note that dividends could vary significantly both with the level of dividends we received and the translation of those dividends into sterling. However, after the payment of the proposed final dividend, we will have a balance in the revenue reserves of £10.0 million (equivalent to 19.9p per share or 1.6 times the current dividend). We are, in addition, proposing to take the power to pay dividends out of capital. We do not foresee doing so if things continue as they are, but we do believe that there may be circumstances in which shareholders would prefer to see us maintain a dividend if we thought any shortfall in our income was temporary.
