Choo Bee Metal Industries Berhad (KLSE:CHOOBEE) Is Increasing Its Dividend To RM0.075

The board of Choo Bee Metal Industries Berhad (KLSE:CHOOBEE) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 3rd of August to RM0.075. This makes the dividend yield 3.5%, which is above the industry average.

See our latest analysis for Choo Bee Metal Industries Berhad

Choo Bee Metal Industries Berhad's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Prior to this announcement, Choo Bee Metal Industries Berhad's earnings easily covered the dividend, but free cash flows were negative. We think that cash flows should take priority over earnings, so this is definitely a worry for the dividend going forward.

Over the next year, EPS could expand by 23.0% if recent trends continue. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 8.4% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. There hasn't been much of a change in the dividend over the last 10. It's encouraging to see some dividend growth, but the dividend has been cut at least once, and the size of the cut would eliminate most of the growth anyway, which makes this less attractive as an income investment.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

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. It's encouraging to see Choo Bee Metal Industries Berhad has been growing its earnings per share at 23% a year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. While the low payout ratio is redeeming feature, this is offset by the minimal cash to cover the payments. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Choo Bee Metal Industries Berhad (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about. 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.