Australia's Pepper Money hits near 3-year high on declaring special dividend
** Shares of Pepper Money PPM.AX rise as much as 9.4% to A$1.81, their highest level since June 8, 2022 ** Stock marks biggest intraday pct gain since late February ** Non-banking lender announces special dividend of 12.5 Au cents per fully paid ordinary share ** About 374,297 shares change hands, 1.3x the 30-day average ** Stock up ~27% YTD (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru) ((Sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))