WAM Leaders Limited (ASX: $WLE) dividend announcement

WAM Leaders Limited (ASX: $WLE) has declared an increased fully franked full year dividend of 9.2 cents per share for the financial year 2024. The company's investment portfolio performance since inception has enabled this dividend increase, despite a challenging year where the investment portfolio underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index, increasing by 2.8% during the year.

Executive Commentary on Investment Portfolio Performance

The Lead Portfolio Manager, Matthew Haupt, acknowledged the challenging year faced by WAM Leaders' investment portfolio, attributing the underperformance to setbacks in certain holdings and strategic underweights in momentum driven sectors. Haupt expressed confidence in a significant improvement in the investment portfolio performance, driven by turnarounds in key holdings and a moderation in overextended sectors. Chairman Geoff Wilson AO highlighted the impact on total shareholder return (TSR) due to the contraction of the WAM Leaders share price premium to net tangible assets (NTA), expressing anticipation for the share price to return to a premium to NTA.

Summary of WAM Leaders' FY2024 Performance and Outlook

WAM Leaders' investment portfolio underperformed in FY2024, leading to a 2.8% increase during the year, below the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index. Despite this, the company declared an increased fully franked full year dividend of 9.2 cents per share, reflecting its commitment to delivering investors a stream of fully franked dividends. The company's ambitions include a significant improvement in investment portfolio performance, driven by turnarounds in key holdings and a moderation in overextended sectors. The recent merger with QV Equities Limited was accretive to WAM Leaders' NTA and increased on-market liquidity, benefiting shareholders. WAM Leaders aims to maintain high grossed-up dividend yield and has 3.2 years of dividend coverage based on the profits reserve at 30 June 2024, demonstrating its commitment to shareholders across market cycles.