Pidilite Industries (NSE:PIDILITIND) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At ₹10.00

Pidilite Industries Limited (NSE:PIDILITIND) will increase its dividend on the 9th of September to ₹10.00. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 0.4%, which is below the industry average.

See our latest analysis for Pidilite Industries

Pidilite Industries' Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock. Prior to this announcement, Pidilite Industries was quite comfortably covering its dividend with earnings and it was paying more than 75% of its free cash flow to shareholders. The company is clearly earning enough to pay this type of dividend, but it is definitely focused on returning cash to shareholders, rather than growing the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 24.9%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 37% 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 2012, the first annual payment was ₹1.90, compared to the most recent full-year payment of ₹10.00. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 18% a year over that time. Despite the rapid growth in the dividend over the past number of years, we have seen the payments go down the past as well, so that makes us cautious.

The Dividend Has Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. We are encouraged to see that Pidilite Industries has grown earnings per share at 7.2% per year over the past five years. Earnings are on the uptrend, and it is only paying a small portion of those earnings to shareholders.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. While Pidilite Industries is earning enough to cover the dividend, we are generally unimpressed with its future prospects. 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. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Pidilite Industries that you should be aware of before investing. 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.