Our strategic objective
GBL’s objective is to continue to deliver a total shareholder return outperforming its reference index over the long term through share price performance and continuous dividend growth throughout the cycle.
This objective encompasses the need for GBL to maintain an appropriate balance between an attractive dividend yield and a long-term growth of its intrinsic value.
Annualized Total Shareholder Return as of December 31, 2018
(with reinvested dividends)
Delivering continuous and sustainable growth of our intrinsic value over the long term
Over the last 15 years, GBL’s net asset value has increased by 5.2% per year which strongly supported the 7.3% total shareholder return over this period.
Net asset value
(in € billion)
Maintaining continued dividend growth over the long term
Over the last 15 years, GBL has:
- more than doubled its gross dividend per share, which corresponds to a 4.9% CAGR over this period; and
- returned EUR 5.6 billion to its shareholders.
Based on the proposed dividend for 2018, GBL delivers a dividend yield of 4.0%. Distributable reserves amount to EUR 8.9 billion (1) at year-end 2018.
(1) Before FY2018 dividend distribution subject to the approval of the General Shareholders’ Meeting of April 23, 2019
Dividend per share
Asset rotation strategy and orientations
GBL’s asset rotation is based on a continuous assessment of the long-term return potential of the existing investments in portfolio, in comparison with new investment alternatives.
We deliver operational efficiency in support to GBL’s value creation
Balanced business model
GBL’s dividend distribution is primarily derived from the net dividend contribution of its portfolio companies, after deduction of its cost structure.
GBL’s payout ratio is computed based on the cash earnings. The payout computation consequently does not take into account the cash inflows from asset disposals.
As a result of the partial disposal of the high-yielding assets of the energy and utilities sectors, in 2018, GBL’s dividend distribution has exceeded its cash earnings. This negative dividend gap remains however limited and is considered temporary as the reinvestment of the proceeds from those asset disposals is in progress. On that basis and taking into account GBL’s material liquidity profile and distributable reserves, this does not jeopardize GBL’s objective of sustainable dividend growth over the long term.
GBL has a solid liquidity profile ensuring the availability of resources to implement its investment strategy throughout the economic cycle.
