Major Listed Companies Fire 'Dividend Salvo'... LG Chem's Dividend Surges 5-Fold to Appease Shareholders

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Starting with Samsung Electronics, which announced a 'surprise dividend' last month, major listed companies are significantly increasing their dividend payments from last year. Amid a recent stock market boom and low interest rates driving funds into the stock market, substantial dividends are expected to accelerate the concentration of investments in stocks.

According to financial information firm FnGuide on the 5th, Samsung Electronics' annual cash dividends last year amounted to 20.3381 trillion won. This is the largest amount among 265 listed companies that have announced their earnings as of the previous day. Samsung Electronics set an overwhelming dividend amount with a special dividend of 15 trillion won last month.

SK Hynix, ranked second in cash dividends, recorded 800.3 billion won, a 17% increase from the previous year. SK Hynix's operating profit increased by 84% and net profit by 136% last year. Hyundai Motor recorded 785.5 billion won, a decrease from 790.4 billion won a year ago in total amount, but this was due to the cancellation of treasury shares last year, maintaining a dividend of 3,000 won per common share. Hyundai Motor posted negative figures in sales, operating profit, and net profit last year.

LG Chem will pay 778.4 billion won in cash dividends, a fivefold increase from the previous year. This fulfilled the promise to shareholders, who opposed the planned spin-off of the battery business in December last year, to pursue a cash dividend of at least 10,000 won per common share for three years. LG Chem's stock price fell to 230,000 won at closing due to the COVID-19 outbreak in March last year but recovered. After deciding to spin off the battery business in September, the stock price sharply declined but continued to rise following the dividend increase announcement. Especially, with the surge in demand for electronic devices due to COVID-19 and the growth of the electric vehicle industry, LG Chem's stock price has surged more than 20% this year, closing at 1,000,000 won yesterday. LG Chem's operating profit and net profit growth rates last year reached 162.7% and 188.9%, respectively.

SK Telecom ranked fifth with 715.1 billion won, an 8.64% increase from 658.2 billion won the previous year, followed by POSCO (620.3 billion won), KT&G (595.6 billion won), Samsung Life Insurance (448.9 billion won), Kia Motors (400.9 billion won), and Samsung C&T Corporation (379.4 billion won).

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