India Inc getting generous with payouts

Riding high on profit growth, India Inc is doling out interim dividends like never before. The total payout in the first nine months (April-December) of this financial year has gone up by 48 per cent to Rs 12,646 crore (Rs 126.46 billion) compared with the corresponding period a year ago.

The number of interim dividend-paying companies has also gone up to 152 against 93 a year ago. These 152 firms have posted 67 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 58,308 crore (Rs 583.08 billion) during the period. The number of companies paying interim dividend is growing every quarter.

For example, 100 companies paid dividend in the third quarter ended December 2006, up from 63 in the second quarter and only 14 in the first quarter. Of these, 16 paid dividend in the December and September quarters and six paid dividend in all the three quarters.

Predictably, public sector companies lead the charts. As many as 17 PSUs from the oil and the banking sector have paid 40.6 per cent more this year at Rs 8,878 crore (Rs 88.78 billion). Private sector companies have paid 69.1 per cent more at Rs 3,768 crore (Rs 37.68 billion) during the same period. The companies that are paying interim payouts are from all categories.

The list includes 46 firms from the A-group, 66 companies from the B1- group, 13 companies from the B- group and 18 from the S-group. There are seven companies from the T, TS and Z groups that have proposed interim payout.

Of the 152 firms that have paid interim dividend, 35 have paid 100 per cent each, 26 have paid 50-100 per cent and 50 have paid 20-50 per cent.

Among new entrants, Ircon International paid 203 per cent, Schrader Duncan 175 per cent, Jetking Infotrain 140 per cent and Monsanto India 100 per cent. Jagran Prakashan (75 per cent), Deccan Chronicle (50 per cent) and Sun TV (30 per cent) are among the newly listed companies that announced interim dividends.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is the largest dividend paying company with a 180 per cent payout. In absolute terms, it works out to Rs 3,850 crore (Rs 38.5 billion).

National Thermal Power Corporation has paid Rs 1,979 crore (Rs 19.79 billion), followed by Tata Consultancy Services Rs 880 crore (Rs 8.8 billion), IndianOil Rs 701 crore (Rs 7.01 billion), Steel Authority of India Rs 661 crore (Rs 6.61 billion), National Mineral Development Rs 353 crore (Rs 3.53 billion) and BHEL Rs 306 crore (Rs 3.06 billion).

IndianOil, HPCL and BPCL together paid Rs 1,121 crore (Rs 11.21 billion) interim dividends on account of posting net profit of Rs 7,796 crore (Rs 77.96 billion) against net loss of Rs 2,267 crore (Rs 22.67 billion) in first nine months of the previous year.

In information technology, TCS declared 900 per cent interim dividend (Rs 9 per share on Re 1 paid up share), HCL Technologies 400 per cent (Rs 8 on Rs 2 paid up), and Infosys Technologies 100 per cent (Rs 5 on Rs 5 paid up).