Verified facts
The proposed final dividend would bring the annual total to 8.95p a share, from 8.80p. The company describes this as its fiftieth year of dividend increases. Year-end cash rose to £75.7m from £68.4m.
Apolifina analysis
A dividend decision and a profit result answer different questions. The dividend indicates how the board proposes to distribute capital; the accounts show what the business earned during the period. A history of increases should not be treated as a commitment that future distributions will rise.
Income investors also need to distinguish the cash balance at a particular date from recurring cash generation. Future working-capital needs, investment and trading conditions can change the amount available for distribution. A lower profit year does not, by itself, establish that the dividend is unsustainable, just as a proposed increase does not prove that trading has recovered.
Primary sources
Sources rechecked on 15 October 2026.
Continue reading: Imperial Brands capital return; ISA guide.