RMH shares rise 23% on declaring a R1.13 billion special dividend

RMB HOLDINGS (RMH) share price rose by more than 23 percent on the JSE on Friday morning after the investment holding company declared a special dividend of R1.13 billion out of income reserves.

The special dividend of 80 cents a share comes after the group said the development of a new hub for business, entertainment, retail and residential living in Bucharest (Bucharest development) were not met by the long stop date of March 31.

“As such, the RMB board will be returning the capital committed to Atterbury Europe and the Iulius Group, earmarked for the Bucharest development to shareholders as a special dividend,” the group said.

However, it added the special dividend would be subject to dividend withholding tax at a rate of 20 percent, which would result in a net special dividend of 64c a share.

The shareholders would get a total of R903.49 million after tax. The share price responded positively to the special dividend declaration by climbing to its highest level in 10 months to R2 a share. The share price ended the day 7.89 percent higher at R1.82.

In June last year RMH closed at R1.70 on the day of the unbundling of its 34 percent stake in the financial services group FirstRand to unlock about R5.41bn in value for its shareholders.

RMH was left with its property portfolio after the unbundling of the FirstRand stake. The group currently holds a 27.5 percent stake in Atterbury, a 37.5 percent in Atterbury Europe, a 20.3 percent in Divercity and various holdings in Integer Properties.

The RMH Property portfolio held its own in the six months to end December results despite the depressed economic environment as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, with losses reduced by 74 percent compared to a year earlier. Its loss after tax from continuing operations improved to R45m, down from R176m compared to a year earlier.