23rd Apr 2020 15:50
(Alliance News) - Mortgage Advice Bureau PLC on Thursday cut its dividend payout in view of the severity of the coronavirus pandemic but said it remains in a strong position to deal with operational and financial impact of the crisis.
The mortgage adviser also posted a rise in 2019 profit and made a strong start to 2020, with increased activity in the market until the end of March.
For 2019, the company's pretax profit increased 13% to GBP17.7 million from GBP15.7 million a year ago. Revenue surged 17% to GBP143.7 million.
The Derby, England-based company proposed a final dividend of 6.4 pence per share for 2019 and intends to pay a further 6.4p when it is prudent to do so. Counting only the confirmed 6.4p final payout, the total dividend for 2019 amounts to 17.5p, down from 23.3p paid a year ago.
"The government imposed lockdown has had the effect of calling a halt on most house purchase transactions, with key elements such as physical viewings and valuations ruled out for the period of the lockdown. Consequently, after the strong start to the year, we have seen a significant reduction in purchase-related activity. This has already impacted both adviser numbers and productivity," the company explained.
"It is too early to predict the extent of the disruption to trading in the coming months and the associated impact on our results for the full year, though we do expect to see a reduction in revenue and profit. However, we remain very optimistic about MAB's growth prospects," it added.
Shares in the company were up 6.4% at 524.00 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon.
By Tapan Panchal; [email protected]
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