LONDON -- On a day when the FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) has been going nowhere -- it was a mere five points up on 5,456 by early afternoon -- we have had news of several companies raising their dividends by 10%. With Europe wobbling in a week that awaits a much-hyped powwow between the heads of the eurozone, which companies are powering up their payouts amid the pessimism?
High-tech printing
Domino Printing Sciences (LSE: DNO.L) released interim figures today and upped its half-year dividend by 10%. The firm, which is involved in the high-tech upmarket end of the printing industry, told us that sales and profits were a little down, but that this was due to short-term economic uncertainty.
But the raised interim dividend of 7.24 pence per share is more than twice covered by underlying earnings per share of 17.2 pence, and the company ended the period with net cash on its books. If the full-year dividend is raised similarly, it should come to about 3.5%. The shares climbed 2% to 519 pence on the news.
Transport winner
Rail and bus operator Stagecoach (LSE: SGC.L) achieved a double-whammy today after its full-year results pushed the shares up by 5.4% (up 13.6 pence to 263 pence), and the firm announced a juicy 10% boost to its dividend payout.
After seeing adjusted EPS grow by nearly 7% to 25.4 pence in a year in which the company returned 340 million pounds in cash to shareholders, the dividend was lifted to a well-covered 7.8 pence per share. That’s a yield of around 3% on the current share price, and the shares have also put on about 12% this month, reversing a decline from February’s peak.
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Agricultural profits
The third 10% dividend rise today comes from Wynnstay Group (LSE: WYN.L), which has announced a 2.85 pence interim payout after recording an 18% rise in half-year revenues and a 14% boost to pretax profits and EPS.
Wynnstay is someone you may not have heard of. The firm is mainly an agricultural supplier, but it also runs a chain of retail stores aimed at farmers and country dwellers. And it's been doing rather well: Since a 161 pence low point in early 2009, the shares have more than doubled to stand at 383 pence today. Share-price appreciation and a growing dividend -- what more could you ask for?
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