Van Elle Holdings' (LON:VANL) Dividend Will Be Reduced To £0.008

Van Elle Holdings plc (LON:VANL) is reducing its dividend from last year's comparable payment to £0.008 on the 13th of October. However, the dividend yield of 3.8% still remains in a typical range for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Van Elle Holdings

Van Elle Holdings' Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

Unless the payments are sustainable, the dividend yield doesn't mean too much. However, prior to this announcement, Van Elle Holdings' 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.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 12.9%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 20%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Van Elle Holdings' Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

It's comforting to see that Van Elle Holdings has been paying a dividend for a number of years now, however it has been cut at least once in that time. This makes us cautious about the consistency of the dividend over a full economic cycle. Since 2016, the annual payment back then was £0.017, compared to the most recent full-year payment of £0.016. Dividend payments have shrunk at a rate of less than 1% per annum over this time frame. Generally, we don't like to see a dividend that has been declining over time as this can degrade shareholders' returns and indicate that the company may be running into problems.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Earnings per share has been sinking by 14% over the last five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

Our Thoughts On Van Elle Holdings' Dividend

Overall, it's not great to see that the dividend has been cut, but this might be explained by the payments being a bit high previously. 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. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For instance, we've picked out 3 warning signs for Van Elle Holdings that investors should take into consideration. Is Van Elle Holdings 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.