Ann: Half Yearly Report and Accounts, page-15

If you look back to 2003 (when I first bought in), yes there were 3 years in which special dividends were paid out, and yes shareholders had the option of participating in a "bonus" share issue. For the years where there was no bonus share issues (no special dividend), over the entire period, the dividend yield has averaged about 3.1% (basic dividend, excluding imputation credits). If you had never participated in the bonus share issues, but rather had just taken the special dividend as cash, then the geometric average dividend yield over the entire period will have been about 4.7% (6.7% grossed up), even after the dilutionary effects of the "bonus" share issues. Now a 6.7% grossed up yield, for a high ROC business, with a phenomenal moat, doesn't quite seem so pricey.