SinoMedia Holding (HKG:623) Is Increasing Its Dividend To CN¥0.162

The board of SinoMedia Holding Limited (HKG:623) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of CN¥0.162 on the 12th of July, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This will take the annual payment to 8.7% of the stock price, which is above what most companies in the industry pay.

See our latest analysis for SinoMedia Holding

SinoMedia Holding's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. However, prior to this announcement, SinoMedia Holding was quite comfortably covering its dividend with earnings and it was paying more than 75% of its free cash flow to shareholders. The business is earning enough to make the dividend feasible, but the cash payout ratio of 92% shows that most of the cash is going back to the shareholders, which could constrain growth prospects going forward.

Looking forward, earnings per share could rise by 5.3% over the next year if the trend from the last few years continues. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 65% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from CN¥0.218 total annually to CN¥0.0835. The dividend has shrunk at around 9.2% a year during that period. 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.

SinoMedia Holding Could Grow Its Dividend

Given that the track record hasn't been stellar, we really want to see earnings per share growing over time. SinoMedia Holding has impressed us by growing EPS at 5.3% per year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. The low payout ratio is a redeeming feature, but generally we are not too happy with the payments SinoMedia Holding has been making. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 3 warning signs for SinoMedia Holding 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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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.