CLST.L Share News (CLST)

Broker Collins Stewart has increased its dividend for the first time since 2007 after strong progress was made across the group in 2010.Revenue rose 16% to £215.7m in 2010 from £186.4m in 2009. with all divisions seeing growth. Revenue from Wealth Management grew to £48.3m from £43.7m in 2009, while the Securities side generated revenues of £106.5m, up from £17.2m the year before.Corporate broking revenues surged to £21.8m from £17.2m in 2009 while Hawkpoint, the firm's corporate finance advisory brand, grew revenue to £39.1m from £28.3m the year before.Reported profit before tax edged up to £19.0m from £18.4m a year earlier, while underlying earnings per share increased by 69% to 7.1p from 4.2p. Assets under management at the end of the year were 34% higher at £7.9bn, up from £5.9bn at the end of 2009, while net cash and cash equivalents declined 8% to £104.5m from £113.2m at the end of 2009.The final dividend has been lifted by 31% to 1.7p from 1.3p a year earlier, making the full year dividend 3.0p (2009: 2.6p). The board expects in future to pay around 40% to 50% of retained earnings out as dividends in future, with the interim dividend typically being half the level of the final dividend."For the group as a whole, the first two months of this year are showing good growth compared with the same period last year. Consequently, we believe that this represents a solid foundation for further progress," said company chairman, Tim Ingram.The company announced plans to change its name to Collins Stewart Hawkpoint, though the Collins Stewart and Hawkpoint businesses will continue to trade under their existing names.