Fielmann's (ETR:FIE) Dividend Will Be Increased To €1.50

The board of Fielmann Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:FIE) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 19th of July to €1.50. Based on the announced payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 2.9%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Fielmann

Fielmann's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable. Before this announcement, Fielmann was paying out 92% of earnings, but a comparatively small 48% of free cash flows. In general, cash flows are more important than earnings, so we are comfortable that the dividend will be sustainable going forward, especially with so much cash left over for reinvestment.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 22.5%. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 72% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from €1.20 in 2012 to the most recent annual payment of €1.50. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 2.3% over that duration. Modest growth in the dividend is good to see, but we think this is offset by historical cuts to the payments. It is hard to live on a dividend income if the company's earnings are not consistent.

Fielmann May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Fielmann has seen earnings per share falling at 3.8% per year over the last five years. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits. It's not all bad news though, as the earnings are predicted to rise over the next 12 months - we would just be a bit cautious until this can turn into a longer term trend.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for Fielmann that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Is Fielmann not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.