Scicom (MSC) Berhad (KLSE:SCICOM) Will Pay A Dividend Of MYR0.02

Scicom (MSC) Berhad (KLSE:SCICOM) has announced that it will pay a dividend of MYR0.02 per share on the 28th of June. This makes the dividend yield 6.2%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

View our latest analysis for Scicom (MSC) Berhad

Scicom (MSC) Berhad's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. However, prior to this announcement, Scicom (MSC) Berhad's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 26.2%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 69% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from MYR0.025 total annually to MYR0.07. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 11% 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's Growth Prospects Are Limited

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. In the last five years, Scicom (MSC) Berhad's earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 2.4% per annum. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

In Summary

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Scicom (MSC) Berhad's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We don't think Scicom (MSC) Berhad 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. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Scicom (MSC) Berhad that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.