SinoMedia Holding (HKG:623) Will Pay A Smaller Dividend Than Last Year

SinoMedia Holding Limited (HKG:623) is reducing its dividend to HK$0.04 on the 8th of July. Despite the cut, the dividend yield of 4.3% will still be comparable to other companies in the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for SinoMedia Holding

SinoMedia Holding's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. The last dividend was quite easily covered by SinoMedia Holding's earnings. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share could rise by 16.4% 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 37%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2012, the first annual payment was CN¥0.17, compared to the most recent full-year payment of CN¥0.032. This works out to a decline of approximately 81% over that time. 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 Looks Likely To Grow

Dividends have been going in the wrong direction, so we definitely want to see a different trend in the earnings per share. It's encouraging to see SinoMedia Holding has been growing its earnings per share at 16% a year over the past five years. Earnings are on the uptrend, and it is only paying a small portion of those earnings to shareholders.

We Really Like SinoMedia Holding's Dividend

In general, we don't like to see the dividend being cut, especially when the company has such high potential like SinoMedia Holding does. The cut will allow the company to continue paying out the dividend without putting the balance sheet under pressure, which means that it could remain sustainable for longer. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular 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 4 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.