UAE’s listed firms offer AED33.83bn dividends

ABU DHABI / WAM

Dividends suggested by board of directors of 71 companies listed in Abu Dhabi and Dubai financial markets for the fiscal year 2016 have grown substantially to AED 33.83 billion. The dividends have already been approved by some of the general assemblies of the companies.
The per share dividends are reckoned the highest in the Gulf and Middle East region, according to an analysis by Emirates news Agency, WAM. The considerable hike in the dividend values will provide high free cash flows for investment, rather than for speculations, despite the continued fluctuations in prices, according to the analysis.
As per official statistics, the average annual investment returns for the year 2016 reached around 4.94 percent, with the returns of the industrial sector’s shares being the highest at 7.14 percent.
The analysis showed that 92.6 percent of the dividends have been acquired by four sectors: banking, telecommunications, real estate and investment. The dividends have been announced by 71 companies registered in the Abu Dhabi and Dubai financial markets until 28th March, with the banking sector acquiring the lion’s share thereof. Up to 13 national banks distributed AED16.84 billion, accounting for 49.7 percent of the total announced distributions. The telecommunication sector came second with AED8.5 billion, a 25 percent of the total yields. The real estate sector came third with dividends worth AED 3.53 billion, a 10.4 percent of total distributions.
The hospitality and leisure sector’s dividends reached a total of AED 1.4 billion, with the investment and capital sector distributing AED1.05 billion, with AED637 million for the transport and logistics sector, AED563 million for the insurance sector, and AED525 million for the industrial sector. The remaining amount is shared by the rest of the sectors.