Sing Investments & Finance's (SGX:S35) Dividend Will Be Increased To SGD0.10

Sing Investments & Finance Limited (SGX:S35) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 11th of May to SGD0.10. This makes the dividend yield 6.0%, which is above the industry average.

See our latest analysis for Sing Investments & Finance

Sing Investments & Finance's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Before making this announcement, Sing Investments & Finance was earning enough to cover the dividend, but it wasn't generating any free cash flows. No cash flows could definitely make returning cash to shareholders difficult, or at least mean the balance sheet will come under pressure.

Over the next year, EPS could expand by 10.4% if recent trends continue. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 40% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

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. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from SGD0.07 total annually to SGD0.10. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 3.6% over that duration. Modest growth in the dividend is good to see, but we think this is offset by historical cuts to the payments. It is hard to live on a dividend income if the company's earnings are not consistent.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. We are encouraged to see that Sing Investments & Finance has grown earnings per share at 10% per year over the past five years. The company is paying out a lot of its cash as a dividend, but it looks okay based on the payout ratio.

Our Thoughts On Sing Investments & Finance's Dividend

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Sing Investments & Finance (of which 1 is significant!) 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.