The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) defined benefit pension schemes’ surplus has decreased by £8m in six months to £236m, its latest financial report has revealed.

The decrease, as of 31 March 2019, was attributed to an increase in the value of the DB pension obligations exceeding the increase in the value of assets.

Pension funding payments of £13m were made, while the £117m that DMGT has pledged to the pension schemes will made available “in the current financial year” and DMGT and the pension trustees “are working on finalising arrangements”.

It was also revealed that a special dividend of £200m will be paid to shareholders as part of a total of £862m distributed amongst shareholders in April 2019.

The defined benefit schemes are closed to new entrants and are in the process of completing their triennial actuarial valuations.

The company made a £21.1m actuarial loss on its defined benefit pension schemes and a one per cent movement in the value of unquoted pension scheme assets is estimated to have changed the value of the firm’s pension scheme assets by £21.2m.

GMP equalisation costs, following the High Court ruling in 2018, are expected to cost the company £3.1m.

DMGT also runs several defined contribution pension schemes.

Commenting on the report, DMGT CEO, Paul Zwillenberg, said: “The distribution of our stake in Euromoney and the £200m special dividend was a defining moment for DMGT. We returned nearly £900m, or 38 per cent of our market capitalisation, to our shareholders.

“Our balance sheet remains strong despite this considerable capital return and an additional £117m made available to our pension schemes. We are confident we can invest for growth and maximise the portfolio's true potential, continuing the transformation we started three years ago.”

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