Savills PLC's (LSE:SVS) unveiled a special dividend after pre-tax profit more than doubled in 2021, aided by a massive real estate market bounce-back after the pandemic-induced cooling the year before.
However, the real estate agent said its outlook is uncertain in light of the impact of the Ukraine crisis, with costs increasing at the highest rate for many years due to inflation in many markets.
Subject to this major uncertainty, the FTSE 250-listed group said it "would anticipate real estate transaction volumes to normalise in the year ahead, alongside the continued recovery of global markets as they emerge from pandemic-related disruptions".
The group said it has started the new year in line with its expectations.
For the past year, it reported underlying profit of £200.3mln, a increase of 107% on the previous year, as revenue rose 23% to £2.15bn.
Pre-tax profit surged 120% to £183.1mln.
Including a final ordinary dividend of 12.75p and a one-time special dividend of 27.05p, the company will pay a total of 55.4p in May.
The special dividend reflected its "very strong recovery and cash generation since the lockdowns of 2020", with the dividend similar to the 2019 final ordinary and supplementary dividends which were cancelled as COVID-19 took hold in March 2020.
Mark Ridley, chief executive, said, "Savills delivered a record performance in 2021 reflecting the significant recovery in both residential and commercial transactional markets supported by growth in our less transactional Investment Management, Property Management and Consultancy businesses."
He added that in 2022, the group performed in line with expectations, "and the strength of our balance sheet supports our growth strategy to pursue further complementary acquisitions and significant recruitment across our global business."