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(Alliance News) - Vector Capital PLC on Friday kept its annual dividend unchanged, despite drop-off in profit and revenue.
The London-based commercial lending group reported that pretax profit dropped 25% to GBP2.1 million in 2023 from GBP2.8 million in 2022, revenue fell 3.4% to GBP5.7 million from GBP5.9 million.
Vector Capital explained that it decided to reduce its loan book in order to maintain higher reserves and liquidity. The loan book at year-end was GBP47.9 million, with an average loan of GBP453,000, down from GBP53.2 million and GBP499,000, respectively, a year before.
Net assets totalled GBP25.5 million in shares on December 31, edging up from GBP25.1 million a year before. NAV per share was 56 pence, up from 55p.
Despite the lower profit, Vector proposed keeping the final dividend at 1.53 pence per share. Vector doesn't pay an interim dividend, so the final dividend is the total payout for the year. The dividend was maintained despite the lower profit, as "we acknowledge the importance to shareholders of the dividend as part of their overall return," Chair Robin Stevens said.
Looking ahead, Vector said it expects the UK base rate to start the move downwards during mid-2024. At the point, it explained that it will "review the scenario to get back to loan book growth".
"We have a strong capital base and a talented team to perform well in our market," said Chief Executive Agam Jain. "We look forward to 2024 with more confidence."
Shares in Vector Capital were down 0.4% to 26.90 pence each in London on Friday morning.
By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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