return of capital, page-6

well, dates are out:

Payment of 8c/share on 12 January 2012.

28 December is last date for trading “ex-return” for 4 January Record Date.

All subject to shareholder approval, which will be sought at General Meeting on 22 December.

Balance sheet on page 21 of the announcement is very positive, as always.

Interesting that the announcement says that there will no effect on dividends because UOS does not currently pay dividends - I wonder if this is an error, or if the 2c component of this "capital return" specified as a dividend for tax purposes is a replacement of the usual 2c dividend. I hope not - earnings for development companies are already lumpy enough that dividends struggle to stay reliable. Although UOS dividend payout ratio has generally been low, at least there has been continuity of dividends and ability to plough back into the DRP.