Second capital return from Customers

Customers Limited, the owner of the largest fleet of automatic teller machines in Australia, will make a second return of capital to shareholders in coming months.

The company yesterday said its board proposed to pay eight cents a share, or $11 million in aggregate. The company will hold a special meeting of shareholders in April to vote on the plan.

Customers will actually distribute an earlier return of capital, also for eight cents a share, over the next few days. Shareholders agreed to that at the annual meeting in November.

The company expects to be paying dividends later this year. Notes in the investor presentation describe the payout policy as "optimal".

Customers reported growth in revenues of 48 per cent in the December 2009 half over the December 2008 half. Net profit was $11.4 million, compared with a loss of $7 million.

The difference is the revenue gain from the shift to direct charging at ATMs. The repayment of expensive debts associated with the consolidation of independent ATM owners through the company over recent years and the disposal of associated businesses has also freed up cash for the company.

In an "Open Briefing" published through the ASX, Customer's managing director, Tim Wildash, said that the level of decrease in useage (since the introduction of direct charging) was "creeping up" but the drop in activity is still about half the industry average.

He said Customers had repriced, upwards, the fees charged at between 15 and 20 per cent of the firm's ATM fleet.