Legal and General hikes divi by more than a third

All four of insurance leviathan Legal and General's operating business divisions delivered increased sales, cash generation and profits in 2011.

Although operating profit in 2011 rose to £1,056m from £1,002m the year before, profit before tax eased to £956m from £1,092m in 2010, below market expectations of £976m. The decline in pre-tax profit was due to the absence this time round of asset related investment variances, which contributed £185m to profits in 2010.

The final dividend has been increased by a whopping 39% to 4.74p per share, meaning the full year dividend rises to 6.40p, up 35% on 2010's payment of 4.75p and well above the 5.94p the market had been expecting.

MoneyWeek

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