Candle chain Dusk Group offer “prudent” dividend on back of ACCC lawsuit regarding button batteries

Retail candle store operator Dusk Group (ASX:DSK) has jumped +5.8% on thin trades after its Chair John Joyce told investors the company has issued a final dividend of 1.6cps which Joyce described as ‘prudent.’

While citing the broad macroeconomic environment as one factor informing that prudency, Joyce also pointed to an ongoing lawsuit brought against Dusk by the Australian competition regulator in July of this year as being a factor.

The ACCC brought proceedings against Dusk earlier this year based on breaches that occurred between 2023 and 2024 wherein Dusk is accused of selling products that fell foul of Australia’s button battery regulations with the penultimate risk being that children could have swallowed them.

“The ACCC … [alleges Dusk] supplied homewares containing button batteries that did not comply with mandatory button battery safety and information standards … it is also alleged that Dusk breached a court-enforceable undertaking it had previously provided to the ACCC,” the regulator wrote in a media release from July.

“Dusk supplied 66,453 products, comprising 29 different product lines, that did not comply … the items included candles, diffusers, tealights, snow globes and other LED products, many of which were Christmas, Easter or Halloween themed.”

The regulator alleges Dusk sold 25 product lines wherein batteries were not tested prior to sale and another 4 which did not contain warnings that button batteries were contained therein.

(While the regulator notes Dusk acted to obtain safety certificates for the first cohort, the ACCC has brought action 2 years later on the grounds Dusk didn’t do so before selling the products.)

That Dusk has pointed to a prudent approach to its final dividend (where total year dividends reflect 5.6cps) suggests the company is expecting a significant financial penalty. Joyce spoke briefly on the matter at the end of his speech for the AGM.

While Dusk increased gross profit by 10% to A$96.2M YoY, it’s worth considering the company’s 5Y chart. Dusk listed in November of 2020 – the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic – and quickly shot up as the stock was perceived as a lockdown beneficiary.

Since those years, though, the company’s share price has been on a steep decline. Raising $70M at $2/sh, Dusk was trading at 72cps late Friday morning. It struggles with liquidity and compared to this time last year is down -20%.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on HotCopper, Australia’s largest stock forum, and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.