Sanritsu's (TSE:9366) Dividend Is Being Reduced To ¥29.00

Sanritsu Corporation (TSE:9366) has announced that on 28th of June, it will be paying a dividend of¥29.00, which a reduction from last year's comparable dividend. However, the dividend yield of 3.7% is still a decent boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Sanritsu

Sanritsu'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. Based on the last payment, Sanritsu's earnings were much higher than the dividend, but it wasn't converting those earnings into cash flow. Since a dividend means the company is paying out cash to investors, this could prove to be a problem in the future.

EPS is set to fall by 3.4% over the next 12 months if recent trends continue. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 35%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2014, the annual payment back then was ¥24.50, compared to the most recent full-year payment of ¥29.00. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 1.7% a year over that time. The dividend has seen some fluctuations in the past, so even though the dividend was raised this year, we should remember that it has been cut in the past.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Over the past five years, it looks as though Sanritsu's EPS has declined at around 3.4% a year. If earnings continue declining, the company may have to make the difficult choice of reducing the dividend or even stopping it completely - the opposite of dividend growth.

Sanritsu's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

Overall, the dividend looks like it may have been a bit high, which explains why it has now been cut. While the low payout ratio is a redeeming feature, this is offset by the minimal cash to cover the payments. We don't think Sanritsu is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

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. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 3 warning signs for Sanritsu 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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