Bangkok--2 Sep--SET
A total of 125 companies listed on The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and Market for Alternative Investment (mai) have announced a combined interim dividend payment of THB 95.74 billion (approx. USD 2.74 billion) for the first half of 2016, representing dividend payout ratio of 68 percent, a rise from 60 percent in H1/2015, indicating their stronger financial health and improved liquidity.
SET Senior Executive Vice President Santi Kiranand said that as of August 31, there were 125 companies (excluding property funds) that had announced dividends for the first six months of 2016, consisting of 105 SET-listed firms with dividends worth of THB 95 billion and 20 mai-listed firms with dividends worth THB 739 million. Of that, THB 74.1 billion or 77 percent of total dividends was from companies on SET50 (Top 50 large-cap companies).
"Improving Thai listed firms' net profits has enriched the dividend payment alongside dividend payout ratio rise. Over the past 3-4 years, there were around 120-150 Thai listed firms paying interim dividend every year, reflecting consistency and value-added of companies become a positive factor for current and potential investors to invest in Thailand," added Santi.
The top 5 SET-listed firms that paid the highest dividends were: Advanced Info Service pcl (ADVANC), PTT pcl (PTT), Siam Cement pcl (SCC), Land and Houses pcl (LH) and Charoen Pokphand Foods pcl (CPF).Their aggregate interim dividends were THB 52.55 billion, or 70 percent of SET's total interim dividends by value.
The top sectors that have made the highest dividend payouts being the same sectors as last year, were: Energy & Utilities, Information & Communication Technology, Construction Materials, Food & Beverage, and Property Development, with the combined dividend value of THB 78.69 billion or 83 percent of the total interim dividends.
On mai, the top-5 listed firms with the highest interim dividend payments were: Forth Smart Service pcl (FORTH), The Brooker Group pcl (BROOK), Fortune Parts Industry pcl (FPI), Union Auction pcl (AUCT) and Arrow Syndicate pcl (ARROW). Their payouts totaled THB 427 million, or 58 percent of mai's total interim dividends.
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