China Communications Services (HKG:552) Is Increasing Its Dividend To CN¥0.2386

China Communications Services Corporation Limited's (HKG:552) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to CN¥0.2386 on 16th of August. This takes the annual payment to 5.6% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for China Communications Services

China Communications Services' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Based on the last payment, China Communications Services was quite comfortably earning enough to cover the dividend. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 21.5%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 40% by next year, which we think can be pretty 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. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from CN¥0.129 total annually to CN¥0.217. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.3% a year over that time. A reasonable rate of dividend growth is good to see, but we're wary that the dividend history is not as solid as we'd like, having been cut at least once.

China Communications Services 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. However, China Communications Services has only grown its earnings per share at 4.3% per annum over the past five years. Growth of 4.3% may indicate that the company has limited investment opportunity so it is returning its earnings to shareholders instead. This isn't bad in itself, but unless earnings growth pick up we wouldn't expect dividends to grow either.

In Summary

Overall, it's great to see the dividend being raised and that it is still in a sustainable range. The payout ratio looks good, but unfortunately the company's dividend track record isn't stellar. The payment isn't stellar, but it could make a decent addition to a dividend portfolio.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for China Communications Services that investors should take into consideration. 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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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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