Monthly Dividend Stock In Focus: The Keg Royalties Income Fund

Updated on April 2nd, 2025 by Felix Martinez

The Keg Royalties Income Fund (KRIUF) has two appealing investment characteristics:

#1: It is a high-yield stock based on its 8.4% dividend yield.Related: List of 5%+ yielding stocks.#2: It pays dividends monthly instead of quarterly.Related: List of monthly dividend stocks

You can download our full Excel spreadsheet of all 76 monthly dividend stocks (along with metrics that matter, like dividend yield and payout ratio) by clicking on the link below:

The combination of a high dividend yield and a monthly dividend render The Keg Royalties Income Fund appealing to income-oriented investors.

But there’s more to the company than just these factors. Keep reading this article to learn more about The Keg Royalties Income Fund.

Business Overview

The Keg Royalties Income Fund is a limited-purpose fund that owns the Keg trademarks and related property purchased from Keg Restaurants Ltd (KRL). Keg Restaurants has built a premier steakhouse brand in Canada and an established presence in the United States.

The fund owns the rights to the brand and has granted KRL an exclusive license to use the Keg Rights in exchange for a monthly royalty payment equal to 4% of the gross sales of Keg restaurants.

In return for adding restaurants to the fund’s royalty pool, KRL receives the right to acquire units in the fund. KRL’s effective ownership of the fund has grown from 10.00% at the time of the IPO in 2002 to over 20% as of the end of 2024. Hence, the interests of the two entities are well-aligned.

The Keg Royalties Income Fund stands out as a “top-line” fund, with its revenue stemming predominantly from KRL’s restaurant sales and only minor operating and financing expenses curbing its net income. Additionally, the fund benefits from a secondary source of income.

This unique structure shields the fund from the fluctuating earnings and expenses associated with actually running the restaurants. As a result, the fund enjoys protection from inflation and a relatively predictable stream of royalties and interest, among other benefits.

Growth Prospects

Similar to other royalty funds of its type that we have analyzed, like the Boston Pizza Royalty Income Fund and the A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, the fund’s growth prospects and overall performance hinge on just two key factors. The first is the number of franchised restaurants in its royalty pool, while the second is the rate of growth in same-restaurant sales.

For context, at the start 0f 2004, the fund had 86 Keg restaurants in its royalty pool. By the end of 2007 and 2013, this number had grown to 95 and 102, respectively. Since then, activity in the royalty pool has been rather stagnant. At the end of 2020 and 2021, the fund had 106 restaurants in its pool, while by the end of 2023, it had added one more to its count of 105.

We expect very few annual additions to the fund’s royalty pool, as it appears the brand has reached peak scaling potential. In comparison to the Boston Pizza and A&W Royalty Funds, which primarily focus on fast-food brands and offer more significant growth potential, Keg’s high-end dining experience is more tailored to a smaller and more specialized demographic, resulting in a more contained expansion capability.

Source: Annual Report

Future price increases in line with inflation should slowly but gradually add to the fund’s royalty-eligible gross sales generated by KRL. Of course, foot traffic in the company’s restaurants and/or restaurant openings and closings could also sway results.

The Keg Royalties Income Fund reported a decrease in royalty income and Royalty Pool Sales for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to an extra week of sales in 2023. Fourth-quarter Royalty Pool Sales were $188.2 million, down 7.1% from the prior year, while full-year sales declined by 3.0% to $719.5 million. Royalty income dropped 7.1% in Q4 to $7.5 million and 3.0% for the year to $28.8 million. Despite this, distributable cash increased to $2.97 million in Q4 and $14.17 million for the year, attributed to changes in non-cash working capital. The Fund maintained a strong financial position with $2.07 million in cash and a 94.2% payout ratio for the year.

Looking ahead, economic uncertainty remains a challenge due to high interest rates, inflation, and reduced consumer spending. The Keg Restaurants Ltd. (KRL) continues to prioritize maintaining high food quality and service standards while managing cost pressures. Despite a 1.8% decline in guest counts, KRL outperformed the broader full-service restaurant sector. Q4 operating profit for corporate restaurants rose to $12.9 million, and EBITDA grew to $10.4 million, reflecting strong cost management.

KRL’s strategic focus includes operational efficiency, guest retention, and brand strength, as reflected in a 1.1% increase in gift card sales. Forbes also ranked the company Canada’s best restaurant employer in 2025. KRL remains committed to delivering exceptional hospitality and sustaining its leadership in the premium steakhouse market.

Dividend Analysis

Aligned with the fund’s aim to distribute all its profits to unitholders, the payout ratio has consistently hovered around the 100% mark. In 2024, it stood at 59%, while in 2021, it was 121.5%. This was due to the fund’s decision to disburse extra cash that had been held back in 2020 due to the pandemic, which had resulted in a payout ratio of just 85.9% at the time. Still, management estimates that 99.78% of distributable cash has been distributed since its inception.

Investors should not expect distribution increases or “cuts,” but rather expect that each year’s total distributions per unit will vary based on the underlying gross sales of Keg-licensed restaurants.

We see limited distribution growth prospects moving forward, in line with our rationale regarding the fund’s overall growth. Apart from higher pricing over the years, we can see the fund generating more or less stagnant earnings and thus paying out rather stagnant distributions.

The current monthly distribution of C$0.09 translates to an annualized rate of C$1.08 (or US$0.78), implying a yield of 8.4%. This yield is rather substantial, but it also reflects investors’ expectations for limited dividend growth prospects.

It’s worth highlighting that the management’s approach appears to involve dividing the quarterly or yearly distributions into equal sums by forecasting the forthcoming cash flows, thereby creating a uniform distribution rate and ensuring consistency in payouts month after month.

Final Thoughts

The Keg Royalties Income Fund offers a hefty dividend yield, which makes it a compelling pick for income-oriented investors, along with the highly attractive frequency of its monthly payouts.

Its frictionless revenue model, which is directly tied to the restaurant’s gross sales in its royalty pool, offers protection from inflation and a dependable stream of profits, regardless of each individual restaurant’s profitability.

Provided that the Keg brand does not significantly change, we anticipate the company will continue to generate a stable stream of monthly distributions through reliable royalty and interest income.

However, compared to other trusts of this type we have analyzed, we anticipate that the scope for distribution growth is relatively restricted due to the paucity of new restaurant openings and the possible saturation of the brand.

Consequently, investors should prepare for the bulk of their returns to come from the dividend. Taking this into account, we believe the fund will not achieve annualized returns exceeding the mid-to-high single digits, which is in line with its current dividend yield.

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