EDP Energias de Portugal, that has as main shareholder China Three Gorges (CTG), will pay the largest dividend among companies in Lisbon´s stock exchange.
Despite the dividend being stable for six years (19 cents per share), EDP remains the Portuguese listed company that distributes the highest amount to its shareholders: EUR 750 million, which represents 30% of the PSI-20 index total.
In total, Portuguese companies in the PSI-20 will distribute around EUR 2.5 billion to shareholders in the coming weeks, on account of last year’s results. It is a record figure for this set of companies, which comes after two years of pronounced falls due to the pandemic.
The amount was calculated by ECO taking into account the dividend proposals already announced by the companies and the estimates for the three remaining (REN, Altri and BCP).
After two years of significant cuts, Portuguese listed companies are once again opening the purse strings to remunerate their shareholders, reflecting the strong rise in profits in 2021 and more aggressive distribution policies by several companies.
This year Jerónimo Martins increased its dividend by 173% to EUR 494 million, a value that exceeds Galp Energia’s total dividend (EUR 413 million, 43% more). Along with EDP, these companies together represent two thirds of the total that the PSI-20 companies will give to shareholders.
It is not yet certain whether Mota-Engil, which has China´s CCCC among its largest shareholders, will remunerate shareholders despite returning to profit in 2021.
REN, whose majority shareholder is China State Grid, announced a new shareholder remuneration policy, which admits a lower dividend than that paid in recent years. The company led by Rodrigo Costa announces results on March 24.
Among the 19 PSI-20 companies, 15 will remunerate shareholders, two more than last year (BCP and Novabase), while Pharol, Ibersol and Greenvolt do not pay dividends.
