The Board is recommending a final dividend of 59p per share subject to approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting on 22 May 2023, which will make a total distribution of 81p per share in respect of 2022 (2021: 66p per share). The total dividend per share is 4.5 times covered by adjusted earnings per share (2021: 3.6 times). The policy of increasing the dividend by a minimum of 10% per year remains sustainable as long as they have ample cover.
The proposed final dividend, if approved by shareholders, will be payable on 7 July 2023 to shareholders on the register on 9 June 2023 and the shares will go ex-dividend on 8 June 2023.
The Company's shareholders are reminded that a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) is in place to enable shareholders to automatically reinvest their dividends into additional Judges shares should they so wish.
Other Financial Highlights:
- Revenue increased 8% compared with 2021.
- Order intake up 0.5% compared with 2021.
- Order book at 21.1 weeks (2021: 19.8 weeks); total order book at 22.9 weeks.
