Scout24 rises on dividend increase, share buyback
23/03/2023 09:37
** Shares in Scout24 G24n.DE are up over 3% after the
German group announced a dividend hike and a new share buyback
programme
** The real estate advertising platform proposes a 17.6%
dividend increase to 1.00 euro ($1.09) per share for 2022,
which represents an around 63% pay-out ratio of reported EPS
** "Dividend above top end of guide and illustrates further
willingness to return capital to shareholders," says Credit
Suisse
** On Wednesday, the group launched a share buyback
programme with a volume of up to 100 million euros, following a
buyback programme of 350 million euros completed in December
** J.P.Morgan says the dividend and share buyback news
presents a "strong message" on the group's cash distribution
** "Together with resilient trading and significant room for
margin expansion, Scout remains our top pick in the European
Internet space," says the broker
** Scout24 is one of the top performers on the German
mid-caps index .MDAXI
($1 = 0.9178 euros)
(Reporting by Anna Mackenzie)
((Anna.mackenzie@thomsonreuters.com))