Читать книгу The Dividend Investor - Rodney Hobson - Страница 21

Occasionally companies will pay a special dividend. This is a one-off payment in addition to the normal interim and final dividends but, unlike the regular payouts, it will not be repeated the following year.

A special dividend usually arises when a company has sold some assets for cash and has no obvious way of using that money to expand the business. Another possibility is that the company has retained large sums of cash from previous profits, possibly to finance a planned acquisition that never materialised, and has finally decided that there is no point in hanging on to the money.

One should not look a gift horse in the mouth and it is right that this money should be handed out to shareholders who do, after all, own the company and all its assets including cash.

A special dividend does imply that the company is on a sound financial footing and that regular dividends are secure for the foreseeable future, otherwise the company would shore up the balance sheet or keep the cash in reserve to maintain regular dividends.

On the other hand, if the company has sold assets its earnings may be reduced in future. Another negative view could be that if the company is returning cash to its shareholders then this suggests the directors are lacking in ideas of how to grow the company. You need to look at the circumstances and decide.

Whatever the reason for the special dividend, remember that it is a one-off payment and that dividends are likely to return to normal the following year.