Fortum Oyj (HEL:FORTUM) Has Announced A Dividend Of €0.57

Fortum Oyj's (HEL:FORTUM) investors are due to receive a payment of €0.57 per share on 9th of October. This takes the dividend yield to 8.3%, which shareholders will be pleased with.

See our latest analysis for Fortum Oyj

Fortum Oyj Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Prior to this announcement, Fortum Oyj was paying out 71% of earnings and more than 75% of free cash flows. This indicates that the company is more focused on returning cash to shareholders than growing the business, but it is still in a reasonable range to continue with.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 44.0%. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 127%, which is definitely a bit high to be sustainable going forward.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of €1.10 in 2014 to the most recent total annual payment of €1.15. Its dividends have grown at less than 1% per annum over this time frame. 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.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Fortum Oyj has impressed us by growing EPS at 12% per year over the past five years. EPS has been growing at a reasonable rate, although with most of the profits being paid out to shareholders, growth prospects could be more limited in the future.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. The company hasn't been paying a very consistent dividend over time, despite only paying out a small portion of earnings. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For example, we've identified 2 warning signs for Fortum Oyj (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.

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