KOSDAQ Companies' Dividends Increased Over 5 Years... Dividend-Paying Companies' Stock Prices Also Rose↑

Photo by Korea Exchange Provided

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] The total amount of dividends paid by KOSDAQ companies has steadily increased over the past five years.

The Korea Exchange announced on the 23rd the "Status of Cash Dividend Disclosures, Market Dividend Yields, and Stock Price Fluctuations of Listed Companies over the Past Five Years." This analysis covers the total dividend amount, market dividend yield, payout ratio, and stock price fluctuations based on cash dividend disclosures of KOSDAQ companies with December fiscal year-ends over the last five years.

The scale of dividends showed a consistent upward trend. The total dividend amount recorded was 1.1266 trillion KRW in 2015, 1.2615 trillion KRW in 2016, 1.4082 trillion KRW in 2017, 1.4647 trillion KRW in 2018, and 1.5734 trillion KRW last year.

However, the number of companies paying cash dividends showed a slowdown in growth. The number of dividend-paying companies was 476 in 2015, increasing to 502 in 2016, 544 in 2017, and 553 in 2018, remaining at 553 last year as well.

Among the 553 companies that paid dividends last year, 325 companies, accounting for 58.8%, paid dividends for five consecutive years.

The average market dividend yield of companies disclosing cash dividends exceeded the government bond yield for four consecutive years from 2016 to last year. Last year, 246 companies, representing 44.5% of all dividend-paying companies, had market dividend yields surpassing the government bond yield.

Regarding stock price fluctuations of dividend-paying companies, the average stock price fluctuation rate in the dividend year for companies paying cash dividends showed excess returns compared to the KOSDAQ index. In particular, the five-year stock price increase rate of companies paying dividends for five consecutive years was 48.1%, significantly surpassing the KOSDAQ increase rate of 23.4% during the same period.

A representative from the KOSDAQ Market Headquarters of the Korea Exchange stated, "The scale of dividends by KOSDAQ companies is increasing every year, and the number of companies paying dividends for five consecutive years is expanding, indicating that listed companies emphasizing shareholder-friendly policies are actively continuing dividend payments. However, compared to the increase in the total number of KOSDAQ-listed companies, the number of dividend-paying companies has stagnated, so it is necessary to foster a broad understanding among KOSDAQ market companies to respond to the expanding trend of shareholder rights exercise."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.