Although there are not many about, it is possible to earn around 10 per cent on a few companies, including a FTSE 100 member.
Man is a leading hedge fund manager. Indeed following the recently announced purchase of rival GLG Partners for $1.6bn (£1.1bn), it's now the world's largest hedge fund with more than $63bn in assets under management. Unfortunately, news of the deal sent Man's share price down 9 per cent to 202p. We've been sellers of the shares since March when they were priced at 244p. But at 202p the shares yield 16.8 per cent on the promise of a maintained dividend of 44¢ a share. Man reports in US dollars and, as a result, a weak pound is boosting the payout while the share price chart suggests that the shares may be close to their bottom after a dreadful six- months trading.
Another high dividend payer in financials is institutional stockbroker Cenkos. It reported significantly higher revenues and profits in 2009 as it raised £951m (£509m in 2008) for company clients last year followed by £460m for Anthony Bolton's new Fidelity China Special Situations Fund this February. Providing stock markets stay reasonably buoyant, 2009's 20p dividend seems sustainable and produces a dividend yield of 18 per cent at 111p a share.
The trio of hefty financial dividend payers is completed by F&C with a 2009 dividend of 6p and a share price of just over 60p. As we said in March, last summer's demerger from Friends Provident was well timed to catch an upturn in stock markets for a company with over 3m customers and over £100bn under management – and despite the loss of the mandate to manage the Eurotrust investment trust. And that's before news of April's acquisition of specialist fund manager Thames River.
Another high yielder is building and engineering products – from drainage to solar shading – provider Alumasc. After reporting most disappointing results for the year to end-June 2009 and a "resilient performance" in the following six months, the second interim statement this March was much more encouraging, with order books 14 per cent up since end-December. The maintained 2009 dividend was 10p and the share are priced at 103p. Thanks to aggressive cost cutting, brokers believe that Alumasc will maintain this year's dividend even though it will be uncovered – and providing 2010-11's prospects are reasonable. Broker Peel Hunt forecasts current year profits of £4.35m and earnings of 8.4p, down from £5.1m and 10.1p in 2009.
Aim-traded Printing.com prints stationery at a central Manchester hub for small- and medium-sized businesses. They contact it via retail franchisees. On 1 June the company is expected to report lower profits in the year to end-March. The cause is softening trading in the UK and Ireland and, as yet, not enough zip in sales further afield. But with net cash and much reduced capital spending, last year's 3.15p dividend looks safe. Earlier this month researcher Hardman forecast 12-month profits down from £2.1m to £1.7m and adjusted earnings 0.6p lower at 2.7p. But, at 34.5p, the dividend yield is still over 9 per cent.
