M&G shares surge after increasing full-year dividend
M&G was one of the biggest gainers on the FTSE on Tuesday after boosting its final dividend by 2.6 per cent.
The asset manager closed nearly five per cent higher despite reporting a 31 per cent in its operating profit to £788m.
Operating income fell 3.9 per cent to £1.9bn with declines across its insurance and asset management divisions.
It is the first set of full-year results for the asset manager since it became a stand alone company after its split from Prudential in 2019, which meant higher costs over the year.
Investors were buoyed by an increase in its final dividend of 12.23 pence per share, up from 11.92 pence bringing the full year total to 18.23 pence.
The hike came as a surprise to the market with M&G yielding nine per cent ahead of publishing its results this morning.
“In our first year as an independent company, we have delivered a strong and resilient performance in one of the most challenging operating environments ever,” chief executive John Foley said. Going forward Foley said M&G’s “financial focus will remain on capital generation to create long-term value for shareholders and to underpin our policy of a stable or increasing dividend.”