Tecmira Holdings' (TSE:3627) Dividend Will Be ¥5.00

Tecmira Holdings Inc. (TSE:3627) has announced that it will pay a dividend of ¥5.00 per share on the 30th of May. This means that the annual payment will be 1.4% of the current stock price, which is in line with the average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Tecmira Holdings

Tecmira Holdings' Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. Prior to this announcement, Tecmira Holdings' earnings easily covered the dividend, but free cash flows were negative. In general, we consider cash flow to be more important than earnings, so we would be cautious about relying on the sustainability of this dividend.

EPS is set to fall by 24.9% over the next 12 months if recent trends continue. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 74%, 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. The annual payment during the last 10 years was ¥4.50 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was ¥5.00. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 1.1% 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.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Tecmira Holdings' EPS has fallen by approximately 25% per year during the past five years. Such rapid declines definitely have the potential to constrain dividend payments if the trend continues into the future.

The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable

Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. We don't think Tecmira Holdings is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For instance, we've picked out 3 warning signs for Tecmira Holdings that investors should take into consideration. 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.