BMIT Technologies (MTSE:BMIT) Is Reducing Its Dividend To €0.025

BMIT Technologies p.l.c.'s (MTSE:BMIT) dividend is being reduced by 15% to €0.025 per share on 26th of May. The yield is still above the industry average at 5.0%.

See our latest analysis for BMIT Technologies

BMIT Technologies Doesn't Earn Enough To Cover Its Payments

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. Based on the last payment, BMIT Technologies' profits didn't cover the dividend, but the company was generating enough cash instead. Given that the dividend is a cash outflow, we think that cash is more important than accounting measures of profit when assessing the dividend, so this is a mitigating factor.

If the company can't turn things around, EPS could fall by 9.0% over the next year. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 103%, which is definitely a bit high to be sustainable going forward.

BMIT Technologies Doesn't Have A Long Payment History

The dividend hasn't seen any major cuts in the past, but the company has only been paying a dividend for 2 years, which isn't that long in the grand scheme of things. The dividend has gone from €0.02 in 2020 to the most recent annual payment of €0.029. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 21% over that duration. The dividend has been growing rapidly, however with such a short payment history we can't know for sure if payment can continue to grow over the long term, so caution may be warranted.

Dividend Growth Is Doubtful

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Over the past five years, it looks as though BMIT Technologies' EPS has declined at around 9.0% 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.

The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable

Overall, the dividend looks like it may have been a bit high, which explains why it has now been cut. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. 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. 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 2 warning signs for BMIT Technologies 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.