GCC-listed firms’ dividends down 3% in 2016

Companies listed on GCC markets issued $34.8 billion in cash dividends by the end of 2016, a decline of 3 percent year-on-year (YoY) compared to $36 billion in 2015, a new study conducted by Argaam showed.

Dividend yield stabilized at 4.2 percent last year.

Classified by equity markets, the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) came on top with a 5.4 percent yield.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Bahrain Bourse came second with a 4.8 percent yield each.

It was followed by Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) with 4.6 percent, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) (4.4 percent) and Tadawul (4 percent). Qatar Exchange tailed the list with a yield of 3.6 percent.

*official market’s companies

KSE ranked first by ratio of dividend to net profit, paying 83 percent of market’s aggregate earnings.

Tadawul ranked second with 58 percent, followed by ADX and MSM with 56 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

*The percentage rose due to the high dividend distributed by Americana (Kuwait Food Co.)

** Distributions included First Gulf Bank before the merger with National Bank of Abu Dhabi

Of the top 20 companies by market value, Tadawul-listed Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) paid the highest dividend yield of 5.7 percent in 2016.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) followed with 5.5 percent.

Dubai’s Emirates NBD and Saudi-listed Kingdom Holding Co. (KHC) recorded yields of 4.8 percent each, while Qatari Masraf Al Rayan and UAE’s telecom giant Etisalat followed with a 4.6 percent yield each.

*According to each market currency

**dividend was distributed before the merger

A total of 40 heavily-traded companies paid high yields, led by Kuwait Food Company (Americana) with a yield of 25 percent.

Eighteen Saudi firms were on the list, led by Arabian Cement and Saudi Cement with 11 percent and 10.4 percent yields, respectively.

Among thinly-traded stocks, DFM-listed Orient Insurance came first with a 30.2 percent yield. It was followed by Omani Port Services Corp. (24 percent) and United Power Co. (14.1 percent).