Baillie Gifford SAINTS fund sees annual dividend rise 2.5 per cent

The full year dividend posted by SAINTS, which has around £178 billion under management, is 11.1p per share and includes a recommended final dividend of 2.825p.

The company said this is fully covered by earnings and its record of dividend increases to 38 consecutive years.

Total return - Net Asset Value total return (capital and income) for the year was 18.8 per cent, some way ahead of the strong total return from global equities of 13.8 per cent.

The share price Total return was 17.2 per cent.

Returns were assisted by strong operational performance of many of the companies in which SAINTS invests, and also by the performance of the Company’s property and bond investments.

Revenues - Investment income was £20.5m (2016 - £18.6m) and earnings per share were 11.33p (2016 - 10.46p).

Looking forward in a statement issued by Baillie Gifford, the firm said it saw “the likelihood of continued economic growth around the world as “strong”, “although the immediate prospects for both the UK economy and the market are less clear.”

It added: “The Board remains confident in the Company’s ability to achieve its objective of delivering real dividend growth by increasing capital and growing income over the long term.”