Aurora Investment Trust

Website: Aurora Investment Trust
Index: FTSE Small Cap
EPIC: ARR
Supersector: Financial Services
Sector: Equity Investment Instruments
Subsector: Equity Investment Instruments
Market Cap: £256.82M
Payout Frequency:

Aurora Investment Trust Dividend Analysis and Summary

Headline Dividend Details

Dividend: 4.70p per share (final) for FY2025
Ex-dividend date: 14/05/2026
Record date: 15/05/2026
Payment date: 25/06/2026
Policy: Pay out substantially all net revenue; dividend expected to vary each year
Prior year: 3.00p (interim only for 2024; no final)
Five-year DPS path: 1.84p (2021), 2.97p (2022), 3.45p (2023), 3.00p (2024, interim), 4.70p (2025 final)
Indicative yield: c.1.7% at 272.0p share price (31 Dec 2025 snapshot)

Coverage and Cash Source

Revenue after tax (FY2025): £5.176m
Dividend cash cost (proposed): £5.176m (4.70p × 110.03m shares) — effectively ~1.0x covered on an absolute basis
Revenue EPS: 4.59p vs DPS 4.70p (per-share cover ~0.98x due to different average share count)
Revenue reserve at 31 Dec 2025: £6.08m; pro-forma reserve after payment ˜ £0.91m (~0.8p/share)

Context and Notable Dates

Short, Focused Analysis

Sustainability: The payout broadly matches FY2025 revenue, leaving only a modest revenue reserve buffer (~0.8p/share post-payment). As the board intends to distribute “substantially all” net revenue and does not target a fixed dividend, future payments will remain sensitive to portfolio income in any given year.
Growth trajectory: DPS rises to 4.70p from 3.00p last year (+57%), but the five-year record is variable (explicitly acknowledged by the company). The direction of travel has been upward over the period, albeit with volatility.
Support from performance and costs: FY2025 revenue roughly doubled (total income £6.50m vs £3.57m in 2024) and ongoing charges fell to 0.35%. No management fee (performance-fee only, and none earned in 2025) keeps the cost base lean, supporting pass-through of income to shareholders.
Capital allocation: Active buybacks (4.54m shares in 2025; further 0.42m post year-end) reduce the share count, modestly lifting per-share revenue and lowering dividend cash cost at the margin. The board is also seeking to cancel the share premium account (court approval required), creating distributable reserves to increase flexibility for buybacks or other distributions, although current policy remains to pay dividends from revenue.

Structural Changes and Policy Signals

Proposed cancellation of the share premium account to create distributable reserves — increases flexibility for returns of capital (e.g., buybacks) but does not change the stated dividend policy.
Ongoing share buyback programme and renewed authorities planned — supportive of per-share metrics and discount control.
2024 combination with Artemis Alpha Trust enlarged the asset base and helped reduce the ongoing charge; no direct change to dividend policy.
Manager paid by performance fee in shares with three-year clawback; none earned in 2025 — keeps cash within the trust and aligns incentives.

Risks / Flags for Dividend Stability

Variable policy and thin cover: Dividend set near 100% of annual revenue leaves a small reserve; any drop in portfolio income could translate into a lower payout next year.
Concentrated portfolio (15–20 core holdings) and several major positions are not traditional income names (e.g., Frasers, Ryanair, Castelnau/Dignity), increasing income volatility.
No gearing limits income amplification but reduces risk; income growth relies mainly on portfolio dividends and position sizing.
Macro/market risks (UK economy, rates, geopolitical events) could affect investee company dividends.
Court approval risk for the share premium cancellation (process risk rather than earnings risk); if approved, it boosts flexibility but does not guarantee higher dividends.

Dividends Used in Calculation:

Ex-Dividend Date	Payment Date	Type	Amount	Currency

Total (Annual Dividends Per Share): 0.00p

Dividend Yield = Annual Dividends Per Share (0.00p) ÷ Share Price (240.5p) = 0%

Ex Dividend Date	Payment Date	Type	Amount
14/05/2026	25/06/2026	Q4	47.0000
09/06/2022	01/07/2022	Q4	1.84
10/06/2021	02/07/2021	Q4	0.55

Year	Total	Change
2022	1.840	234.540
2021	0.550

Number of Shares:

Payment	Paid	Amount
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