Record Dividends Payments in UK; Mortgage Lending Falls

Arthi Gupta
23 Jan, 2012
New York City

The UK indexes traded higher and mortgage lending declined in the UK in December and the household finance index rose in January. UK dividends surged to a record

[R]2:30 PM London – The UK indexes traded higher and mortgage lending declined in the UK in December and the household finance index rose in January. UK dividends surged to a record £67.8 billion in 2011.[/R]

The UK indexes gained after dividends surged to record levels in 2011 and traders looked ahead to the outcome of a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels today and between Athens and its private-sector lenders.

In London, FTSE 100 Index gained 39.90 or 0.7% to 5,768.33 and the pound edged higher to $1.5545.

UK Mortgage Lending Falls

Mortgage lending in the United Kingdom decreased from last year in December, preliminary data from a survey by the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed today.

The value of gross mortgage lending declined 12% to £11.7 billion in December from £13.2 billion in November. From a year ago, gross mortgage lending increased 12% in December.

In the year 2011, gross mortgage lending climbed 3% from last year to £140 billion, the agency said.

UK Household Finance Index Climbs

The UK household finance index that tracks changing consumer behavior rose to 36.4 in January, from 34.3 in December, data from a survey by Markit Economics showed on Monday. The latest fall was the slowest since December 2010.

About 33% of households reported that their finances worsened over the past month, while 6% of households reported an improvement.

UK Dividends at Record High

UK dividends rose 19.4% to a record £67.8 billion in 2011, according to the statistics compiled by Capita Registrars and Exchange Data International.

The study also predicted dividends would rise again in 2012, up 11% on this year to £75 billion.

Gainers & Losers

Afren Plc plunged 6.6% to 116.40 pence after the Africa-focused oil and gas explorer estimated total revenues for the year 2011 to be around $600 million, up from $319 million reported in the year 2010.

BHP Billiton Ltd. dipped 0.6% to $3724 after the diversified natural resources company’s BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty Ltd. received conditional approval from the Environmental Protection Authority for its Outer Harbor development in Western Australia that will take eight years to build and cost $20 billion.

Dragon Oil plc rose 2% to €6.07 after the explorer focusing on Turkmenistan said it targets total revenue for 2011 to be approximately $1.1 billion, up from last year''s $780.4 million, subject to final audit. The full-year audited results will be reported on February 21, 2012.

Lupus Capital Plc declined 0.8% to 127 pence after the holding company stated total sales for 2011 are anticipated to be around £249 million, a decline of about 6% from £266.2 million in 2010.

WPP Plc gained 0.8% to 751 pence after the global media communications services company said its wholly-owned operating company Hill+Knowlton Strategies acquired an additional 25.1% stake in The PBN Co. WPP originally acquired a 49.9% stake in the company in 2007.