The second interim dividend per share of 9p, payable on 21 July 2016, will take the total annual dividend per share to 12p, up 50% from 2015, Liontrust said.
While Liontrust saw revenues increase by 22% to £45m and a 21% rise in adjusted profit before tax to £14.6m at the end of the financial year, it only managed to generate net inflows of £255m compared to £667m in 2015.
Despite this, the asset manager’s AuM expanded by 7% to £4.8bn, which the group said is set to hit £5bn after its completed merger with the European Income Business of Argonaut Capital Partners.
Liontrust’s annual results also revealed that executive chairman, Adrian Collins, would be vacating his post at the forthcoming AGM and stepping into the role of non-executive chairman.
Collins, who has spent six years as executive chairman, remarked: “When I became Executive Chairman, your Company had posted an adjusted profit before tax of £796,000 and this year’s results are on show. The share price has risen by 158% compared with the FTSE All-Share index which has returned 29% over the same period and we have restored the Dividend, which will be 12p for the full year.”
Chief executive, John Ions, was similarly pleased with the group’s annual performance and its achievement of six consecutive years of positive flows. He emphasised that Liontrust remained committed to the broadening of its investment teams.
“Adding teams is in itself not a problem, the greater challenge is in finding ones that provide the rigorous investment process and discipline that we and our clients demand,” Ions said.
“The Global Equity team that we recruited last year met this criteria and our agreed acquisition of the European Income Business of Argonaut Capital Partners LLP will enhance further our equity income credentials and give us European as well as UK, Asia and Global income funds. The demand for income generation has never been greater and this theme will only continue to grow,” he added.
