ID :
66872
Sat, 06/20/2009 - 22:33
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https://oananews.org//node/66872
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FY 2008 stock dividends by listed firms to mark 1st drop in 7 years+
TOKYO, June 20 Kyodo - The total amount of stock dividends planned to be paid by listed firms for fiscal 2008 is expected to mark the first drop in seven years, mirroring deteriorating business results amid the global economic downturn, an economic think tank said Saturday.
The combined amount of dividends by about 2,700 firms in the year ended March
31 is projected to total about 6.09 trillion yen, down 9.0 percent from the
previous year, according to the Financial & Economic Research Center of Nomura
Securities Co.
The total amount of stock dividends to be paid by listed companies in the
current business year through next March is also likely to shrink from fiscal
2008, the think tank said.
A number of firms have not revealed a forecast for stock dividends for fiscal
2009 amid uncertainty over the economic outlook.
Of listed firms holding or planning to hold a general shareholders meeting in
June, 1,007 or 37.7 percent will reduce or skip dividends in fiscal 2008, up
from 13.8 percent in fiscal 2007.
Many companies paid interim dividends roughly equal to the previous year's
levels for the first half of fiscal 2008, but the trend has apparently changed
since then.
Toshiba Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., both mired in huge net losses, will skip
payment of year-end dividends, while Toyota Motor Corp. plans to slash its
year-end dividend, the first cutback in investors' return since the automaker
was listed except for fiscal 1994 when a special factor forced the carmaker to
cut its dividend.
In contrast, only 15.0 percent of the listed companies scheduling general
shareholders meetings plan to increase or resume dividend payment in fiscal
2008, down from 36.3 percent in the previous year.
Since executive compensation is also expected to be on the agenda at general
shareholders meetings, companies maintaining high executive salaries may draw
fire from investors amid sagging stock prices and cuts in dividends, a
strategist at the think tank said.
==Kyodo
The combined amount of dividends by about 2,700 firms in the year ended March
31 is projected to total about 6.09 trillion yen, down 9.0 percent from the
previous year, according to the Financial & Economic Research Center of Nomura
Securities Co.
The total amount of stock dividends to be paid by listed companies in the
current business year through next March is also likely to shrink from fiscal
2008, the think tank said.
A number of firms have not revealed a forecast for stock dividends for fiscal
2009 amid uncertainty over the economic outlook.
Of listed firms holding or planning to hold a general shareholders meeting in
June, 1,007 or 37.7 percent will reduce or skip dividends in fiscal 2008, up
from 13.8 percent in fiscal 2007.
Many companies paid interim dividends roughly equal to the previous year's
levels for the first half of fiscal 2008, but the trend has apparently changed
since then.
Toshiba Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., both mired in huge net losses, will skip
payment of year-end dividends, while Toyota Motor Corp. plans to slash its
year-end dividend, the first cutback in investors' return since the automaker
was listed except for fiscal 1994 when a special factor forced the carmaker to
cut its dividend.
In contrast, only 15.0 percent of the listed companies scheduling general
shareholders meetings plan to increase or resume dividend payment in fiscal
2008, down from 36.3 percent in the previous year.
Since executive compensation is also expected to be on the agenda at general
shareholders meetings, companies maintaining high executive salaries may draw
fire from investors amid sagging stock prices and cuts in dividends, a
strategist at the think tank said.
==Kyodo
