Some 105 of the 271 companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) paid a total of P342.88 billion in cash dividends to common stockholders in 2020, according to data compiled by PSE.
The dividends gave investors in these companies a yield of 2.5 per cent. In 2019, 115 of the 268 PSE-listed companies paid P368.03 billion in cash dividends, also providing a yield of 2.5 per cent.
For PSEi companies, the cash dividends paid to common stockholders by 29 of the 30 index stocks amounted to P157.05 billion (1.76 per cent yield) and P178.52 billion (1.85 per cent yield) in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
“We are pleased that listed firms continued to pay attractive dividends in 2020 despite the disruptive impact of the pandemic to their operations and cash flow. These dividends provided investors additional income during one of the most financially challenging years in the history of Philippine business,” PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said.
The Financials sector had the biggest dividend payout among the sectors last year. Twelve of the 30 companies in this sector paid out a combined P159.05 billion in cash dividends.
“We hope that corporate profits will improve substantially this year, especially with the expected arrival of vaccines, so companies can continue to maintain or even increase their dividend payouts,” Monzon added.
Meanwhile, the PSE is now requiring companies that are planning to delist to provide independent valuation reports and fairness opinions on their tender offer, in an effort to protect small investors.
In a memorandum released on Friday, the bourse operator said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the amendments to the PSE guidelines for fairness opinions and valuation reports.
“The amendments pertain to the express inclusion of tender offers undertaken pursuant to delisting proceedings in the list of transactions where a fairness opinion and valuation report prepared by an independent valuation firm duly registered or licensed by the SEC and accredited by the Exchange are required,” the PSE said. – BusinessNews.ph
