Footwear retailer Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE) impressed the market on Wednesday as it unveiled full year results that included a bonus special dividend for its shareholders.
Shares in the company, which had been down 11% in the last week, were up around 14%, or 23p, to 190p by lunch as the firm announced it will pay out 6p per share.
Broker finnCap said the pay-out was “welcome news,” adding that it “expects management to regularly return excess capital”.
The results were strong despite a “difficult year for the footwear industry,” Shoe Zone said.
Sales for the year to October eased 3.5% to £166.8mln pounds as it cut ties with loss-making stores and overcame difficult trading conditions in the first half.
Pre-tax profit also dropped, by around 3.4% to £10mln.
But investors were cheered by the two proposed dividends, and a 6.5p final pay-out taking its total for the year to 9.7p, and the aforementioned special 6p yield.
Anthony Smith, chief executive, said: “We have continued our focus on our strategic objectives and this has ensured we are well placed for the future.”