GL Events' (EPA:GLO) Dividend Will Be Increased To €0.70

GL Events SA (EPA:GLO) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 4th of July to €0.70. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 3.6%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for GL Events

GL Events' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. However, prior to this announcement, GL Events' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 36.3%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 24%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was €0.60 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was €0.70. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 1.6% over that duration. We're glad to see the dividend has risen, but with a limited rate of growth and fluctuations in the payments the total shareholder return may be limited.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

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. Earnings per share has been crawling upwards at 3.9% per year. Earnings growth is slow, but on the plus side, the dividend payout ratio is low and dividends could grow faster than earnings, if the company decides to increase its payout ratio.

Our Thoughts On GL Events' Dividend

In summary, it's great to see that the company can raise the dividend and keep it in a sustainable range. The dividend has been at reasonable levels historically, but that hasn't translated into a consistent payment. This looks like it could be a good dividend stock going forward, but we would note that the payout ratio has been at higher levels in the past so it could happen again.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 2 warning signs for GL Events that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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