Louis declares 0.75c dividend, ups profits

Louis Public Co. Ltd. (LUI) declared a final dividend of 0.75 cent per share after the final results were approved, which showed an improvement due to deferred taxation calculations.

Louis reported net profits of CYP 1.68 mln for 2004, up from the preliminary figure of CYP 9.4 mln due to the adjustment made in deferred taxation calculations of Group subsidiary Louis Hotels Ltd. in Greece. Earnings per share amounted to 2.53 cent per share.

The Board is proposing a final dividend of 7.5%, or 0.75 cent per share, which amounts to a total cash disbursement of CYP 3.170.355 to be distributed to shareholders on July 29, 2005.

The record date has been set on July 13, 2005, while the ex-dividend dates will be 11 and 12 July 2005. Based on the above mentioned dates and the trading rules of the CSE, transactions that are made until 8 July 2005 inclusive, will be eligible to participate in the dividend.

The Annual General Meeting of shareholders will be held on Wednesday 29 June 2005, at 6.00pm at the Hilton Hotel Cyprus in Nicosia.

Based on the most recent price of LUI on the CSE, the dividend yield amounts to 3.4% while the book value share remained steady at 0.36 cent for a price to book value of 0.61x and the price to earnings ratio was 8.6x.