One hundred-eleven firms listing on The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the Market Alternative Investment (mai) paid interim dividends of a combined THB 91.4 billion (approx. USD 2.95 billion). Interim dividends of all Thai listed firms are expected to exceed THB 100 billion for the third consecutive year due to their promising growth and high liquidity.
SET Executive Vice President Chanitr Charnchainarong said that as of August 22, the companies paying dividends for the first six months of 2013 (excluding property funds) included 93 SET-listed firms, with dividends worth THB 90.79 billion, plus 18 mai-listed firms with dividends worth THB 632 million. The total payout ratio from SET- and mai-listed companies combined was at 62.47 percent, up from 45.06 percent a year earlier.
“With strong financial discipline and good capital structure management, Thai listed companies continue to show upbeat performance since the 1997 financial crisis. Currently, their financial status and liquidity are strong, as their debt to equity ratios have been falling over the last 10 years, while their cash to asset ratios and interest payment ability have been increasing. These have resulted in rising capital gains and dividends,” Chanitr added.
Total interim dividends have shown sustainable and strong growth, exceeding THB 100 billion every year since 2011, much greater than in the past ten years when there was only about THB 2 billion worth of interim dividend payment in the year of 2000.
“Dividend stocks with solid fundamentals should be a good investment option when the market is volatile, with sharp drops in stock prices and sufficient safety margins,” Chanitr said.
In addition to the interim dividend payments, four companies paid stock dividends for the first half of this year, namely, Brooker Group pcl (BROOK), Chonburi Concrete Product pcl (CCP), Charn Issara Development pcl (CI), and WHA Corporation pcl (WHA), for a total value of THB 570 million.
The SET-listed firms which paid the highest dividends, in descending order, were: Advanced Info Service pcl (ADVANC), Shin Corporation pcl (INTUCH), PTT Exploration and Production pcl (PTTEP), PTT Global Chemical pcl (PTTGC), and Siam Cement pcl (SCC) with an aggregate interim dividend of THB 58.47 billion, representing 64.40 percent of SET’s total interim dividends by value.
The mai-listed firms which paid the highest dividends, in descending order, were: Mono Technology pcl (MONO), Master Ad pcl (MACO), Unimit Engineering pcl (UEC), Kiattana Transport pcl (KIAT), and Tirathai pcl (TRT). Their total payout was THB 367 million, accounting for 58.09 percent of mai’s total dividends.
The sectors with the highest dividend payments were, in descending order by valuation, Information Communication Technology, Energy Utilities, Construction Materials, and Property Development sectors, with a combined divided of THB 78.42 billion, or 85.78 percent of the total interim dividends.
There are more listed companies considering paying interim dividends. For more information, please visit www.set.or.th
Attachment for SET Release 99/2013