EQUITY is blood" is one of Michael Smurfit's most famous contributions to the lexicon of business quotations.on offer, taking his latest batch of dividends from the company in hard cash. Unlike brothers Alan and Dermot and most of the non-family directors, Michael did not take up shares in lieu of cash for the recent final dividend. This netted Michael Pounds 1.4 million in cash dividends.

Mind you, Michael did buy a load of options earlier this year, admittedly while making a handsome paper gain on the deals, and holds more shares now than he did at the beginning of the year.