Bellevue Healthcare Trust PLC (LSE:BBH) has proposed a final dividend of 2.995p per ordinary share for the financial year 2023, maintaining its target of an annual dividend payout of 3.5% of the preceding year-end net asset value.
The total dividend for the financial year 2024 has been proposed at 5.04p, a reduction from the previous year due to a decrease in assets under management (AUM).
Bellevue’s total NAV return, including reinvestment of dividends, over the last financial year was down 12.7%.
The trust's buyback strategy was temporarily suspended during the year due to legal procedures related to the reduction of the share premium account aimed at increasing the special distributable reserve for dividend payments and redemptions.
Over the year, the Trust redeemed 77.4 million shares and bought back 16.4 million shares, which are held in treasury and will be cancelled.
On the macroeconomic front, the Trust's managers expressed concerns over the persistent external challenges that have influenced investor sentiment and the performance of healthcare investments.
However, they said the year ended in better shape than it began, despite ongoing geopolitical concerns.
Per the investment manager’s report: “If there is anything positive to say about the overall macro backdrop during this period, it would be that the year ended much more positively than it began sentiment-wise.
“We can but hope for a more rational and stock-driven performance during 2024, although geopolitical concerns still represent a Damoclean overhang, even as the economic picture looks to be stabilising somewhat.”