China Everbright (HKG:165) Is Increasing Its Dividend To HK$0.28

The board of China Everbright Limited (HKG:165) has announced that the dividend on 8th of October will be increased to HK$0.28, which will be 100% higher than last year. This will take the annual payment from 5.2% to 6.7% of the stock price, which is above what most companies in the industry pay.

View our latest analysis for China Everbright

China Everbright's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. China Everbright is quite easily earning enough to cover the dividend, however it is being let down by weak cash flows. We think that cash flows should take priority over earnings, so this is definitely a worry for the dividend going forward.

Looking forward, earnings per share could rise by 0.5% over the next year if the trend from the last few years continues. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 31%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

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 first annual payment during the last 10 years was HK$0.43 in 2011, and the most recent fiscal year payment was HK$0.49. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 1.3% per annum over that time. 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.

China Everbright May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. China Everbright hasn't seen much change in its earnings per share over the last five years. If China Everbright is struggling to find viable investments, it always has the option to increase its payout ratio to pay more to shareholders.

Our Thoughts On China Everbright's Dividend

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. While the low payout ratio is redeeming feature, this is offset by the minimal cash to cover the payments. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for China Everbright (of which 2 can't be ignored!) you should know about. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high performing dividend stock.

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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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