Public firms pay out P492-B in dividends in 2021

Cash dividends paid out by listed companies to common shareholders last year rose 17.3% to P402.18 billion from 2020’s P342.88 billion, translating to dividend yields of 2.58% and 2.50%, respectively, Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) data showed.

For PSEi companies, cash dividends paid by 28 of the 30 main index members amounted to P157.58 billion, giving common shareholders a 1.72% dividend yield.

In 2020, 29 PSEi constituents distributed P157.05 billion in dividends, providing a dividend yield of 1.76%.

Among the six sectors in the PSE, Financials had the largest dividend payout at P187.55 billion.

Among listed companies that paid top dividends were the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) namely AREIT Inc.; DDMP REIT Inc.; Filinvest REIT Corp.; RL Commercial REIT Inc. and MREIT Inc.

They had an aggregate cash dividend payout of P5.77 billion, resulting in 2.16% dividend yield, even as three of the five REIT were only listed for an average of four months.