CMK's (TSE:6958) Dividend Is Being Reduced To ¥15.00

CMK Corporation (TSE:6958) has announced that on 27th of June, it will be paying a dividend of¥15.00, which a reduction from last year's comparable dividend. The yield is still above the industry average at 3.7%.

See our latest analysis for CMK

CMK's Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. CMK is quite easily earning enough to cover the dividend, however it is being let down by weak cash flows. With the company not bringing in any cash, paying out to shareholders is bound to become difficult at some point.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 1.7% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 21%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was ¥5.00 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was ¥15.00. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 12% per annum 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 Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. CMK has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 33% per annum. A low payout ratio gives the company a lot of flexibility, and growing earnings also make it very easy for it to grow the dividend.

An additional note is that the company has been raising capital by issuing stock equal to 20% of shares outstanding in the last 12 months. Regularly doing this can be detrimental - it's hard to grow dividends per share when new shares are regularly being created.

In Summary

Overall, the dividend looks like it may have been a bit high, which explains why it has now been cut. While CMK is earning enough to cover the payments, the cash flows are lacking. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic 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 2 warning signs for CMK 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.