Sigma to pay maiden dividend despite a slide into the red

The firm, which has bases in Edinburgh and London, unveiled the 0.2p-per-share payout as it posted weaker half-year results, including a loss before tax of 1.1 million. During the same period last year, Sigma generated profits of 1.5m.

Chairman David Sigsworth said: "So far, 2010 has been a difficult year set against very uncertain economic conditions. The two key sectors we operate in, venture capital and property investment management, are currently characterised by opportunity but there are also challenges."

He added: "We have spent significant time and resource on moving ahead to deliver the opportunities we see whilst also managing the challenges. We feel that we have laid the foundations for greater stability and future growth."

The firm said that as a result of investment made into the business during the first half, its venture capital arm had traded at a profit while the property division - hit by the economic downturn - traded at a loss.

Aim-listed Sigma, which is headed by chief executive and co-founder Graham Barnet, hinted at "the development of some significant opportunities" identified during the first half.

It also noted that it had "extended its commercial relationship" with its largest shareholder, West Coast Capital - the investment vehicle of Scots entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter.

Sigma, which also has a strong focus on the commercialisation of university spin-outs, had said earlier this year that it expected to start paying dividends for the first time after booking a full-year profit of 900,000 in 2009.

In a note yesterday, Edison Investment Research said Sigma was "not out of the doldrums yet", adding: "We are reducing our FY10 estimate of break-even to a low-case 1.4m loss."