The Berkeley board has promised to return £1.7bn to shareholders in dividends, but it wants to pay it in three instalments – in September 2015, 2018 and 2021.
The company said that it needed money available for the time being to buy land and maintain cashflow.
Berkeley shareholders have not had a dividend since 2004.
Revenues for the year to 30 April 2011 was up 21% from £615.3m to £742.6m. The group sold 2,544 homes during the year at an average selling price of £271,000, compared with 2,201 units sold at a price of £263,000 the year before.
Revenues benefited from the £13.8m made from land sales, compared with none the previous year.
Pre-tax profit was up 23.5% to £136.2m, up from £110.3m the previous year.
Analysts had forecasted profit of less than £130m on revenues of less than £700m
Managing director Rob Perrins said: "I am pleased to report that Berkeley has performed strongly during the year, exceeding the targets set for both return on equity and land bank growth. The 20.2% growth in earnings per share reflects the depth of demand for well-located property in London and the southeast where supply is constrained and Berkeley has the land and expertise to deliver quality homes and places. In addition, Berkeley has acquired some 3,600 plots across 24 sites in excellent locations during the year, and has increased the number of active sites in line with our strategy to invest at this point in the cycle.
"The increase in forward sales of 25.5%, land bank growth of 13.1% and our planning successes contribute to an improvement in operational visibility. This provides us with confidence that Berkeley can maintain the rate of earnings growth in the current year and increase the value of the land bank over the next two years, through a combination of optimisation and land acquisition, before commencing the return in cash to shareholders envisaged in the long term plan."
Chairman Tony Pidgley said that the 10-year dividend plan “puts in place an exciting and challenging proposition that builds on the strengths of Berkeley's unique business model to realise significant value in cash for existing shareholders, yet retains sufficient working capital to invest in the continuing business and provides a real incentive for management to maximise its long term value."
The £13 per share dividend over the next 10 years represents a premium of 83% to the current net asset value per share of 709.2 pence per share.
The board is planning a new long-term remuneration plan that incentivises management both to deliver this return and to create value in the ongoing business. Shareholders will get their say on this at the AGM on 5 September.
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