Kainos Group PLC (LON:KNOS) has made a double U-turn and said it has decided to reinstate its dividend after trading proved stronger than expected in the first quarter of its financial year.
After just four months of “strong” trading of its financial year to end-March 2021, the medical software business said it expects revenue for the year to be “well ahead” and underlying profit to be “substantially ahead” of current forecasts.
The FTSE 250 company, which in April cancelled its final dividend for last year to preserve liquidity during the coronavirus crisis, said having further assessed ongoing cash requirements under various scenarios, it has now elected to declare “a special dividend, in lieu of the final dividend”.
The special dividend will be 6.7p per share and will be paid on September 4, and the board said it expect to return to the normal interim and final year dividend cycle for the current financial year as well.
“During the early stages of COVID-19, we successfully adapted to the changing business environment and we remain confident that we will be able to respond to any future challenges in the wider macro-economic backdrop,” the Belfast-based company said.
“However, we maintain our view that it is too early to predict the duration or the severity of the COVID-19 economic disruption and any impact it will have on our customers.”
The shares jumped 20% to 994p after an hour and a half of trading on Monday.