Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad (KLSE:SOP) Will Pay A Dividend Of MYR0.06

Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad's (KLSE:SOP) investors are due to receive a payment of MYR0.06 per share on 14th of July. This payment means that the dividend yield will be 3.2%, which is around the industry average.

View our latest analysis for Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad

Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. However, prior to this announcement, Sarawak Oil Palms 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 fall by 41.3%. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 36%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The annual payment during the last 10 years was MYR0.0333 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was MYR0.08. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 9.2% over that duration. We have seen cuts in the past, so while the growth looks promising we would be a little bit cautious about its track record.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 15% per annum. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

We Really Like Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad's Dividend

In summary, it is good to see that the dividend is staying consistent, and we don't think there is any reason to suspect this might change over the medium term. The company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. However, it is worth noting that the earnings are expected to fall over the next year, which may not change the long term outlook, but could affect the dividend payment in the next 12 months. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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