Murgitroyd hikes dividend on record annual revenues
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The Aim-quoted firm proposed a final dividend of 11.25p a share, to be paid on 11 November, reflecting “the strength of its cash flows”. That would give a total payout for the year of 16p – up from 14.75p last time.
The hike was announced as Murgitroyd posted a pre-tax profit of £4.29 million for the 12 months to the end of May, against £4.16m a year earlier, on revenues 6 per cent higher at £42.2m.
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Hide AdExecutive chairman Ian Murgitroyd, who is set to switch to a non-executive role after next month’s annual meeting, said: “We continue to see good growth in the USA, which remains the main focus of business development activity for the group. It is the largest source of European patent applications and our growing presence there offsets continuing weaker European demand, including in the UK.”
In June, Murgitroyd extended its international reach with a $2.43m (£1.8m) deal to buy parts of Dallas-based MDB Capital Group and Nicaragua’s Patentvest.
“The geographic spread of our activities and customer base however puts us in a strong position to counter any weakness in individual markets,” the group’s chairman said today.
He added: “These results reinforce the group’s ability to deliver sustainable and long-term growth, which combined with strong cash position, underpins the board’s commitment to a continued progressive dividend policy.”
Today’s results showed the firm ended its financial year with 234 staff, down from 250 a year earlier. It said the reduction in its headcount reflected its mix of revenue “and the investment in systems and processes that have facilitated increased amounts of fee-earning work being carried out by paralegal and specialist formalities staff instead of attorneys”.