Temple Bar Investment Trust raises full-year dividend

12th Feb 2014 09:42

- Dividend raised three per cent- Profits and total income rises- Investment income fallsTemple Bar Investment Trust raised its dividend by three per cent to 37.75p after achieving a rise in pre-tax profit and income.Pre-tax profit in the year through December 31st 2013 came to £180m, up from £92m the year earlier, as total income jumped to £190m from £100m. Total return on net assets was 31.4%, compared to a total return for the FTSE All Share Index of 20.8%. However, revenue in the investment portfolio fell to £26m from £28m, as the group struggled to identify a sufficient number of attractive investment opportunities.Strong equity markets limited the prospects, the group said. A change in the accounting treatment of bond holdings also resulted in a decline in the distributable income."The immediate impact of this strategy is a shortfall on the 2013 revenue account, such that a small part of the proposed dividend for the current year will be financed from revenue reserves," the firm aid."The board, however, believes that one of the great benefits of an investment trust vehicle is the ability to make use of accumulated revenue reserves in order to smooth dividend payments over the longer term."Temple Bar, however, said 2014 may bring more volatility and hence more opportunity to invest. Shares rose 0.32% to 1,243p at 10:18 on Wednesday. RD