Frikkee expects BP to resume dividends in February

Tineke Frikkee, manager of the £2.52bn Newton Higher Income fund, expects BP to resume dividend payments as early as February next year.

Frikkee's fund had a 5.47% weighting to BP at end June, despite the oil giant announcing it was suspending its dividend payments for the rest of this year. The manager says the BP board is committed to future payments and she expects a bounce in its dividend in February. "Our concerns have been eased by a number of factors - the phasing of the liability payments, the current assumptions on the likely cost of the incident, its asset disposal programme and the continuing strong underlying cash generation to retain the business," Frikkee told Reuters. "These factors, coupled with the ...