Securities Times reporter Wu Shaolong
To promote the "double improvement of quality and return", Shenzhen enterprises actively act as the main force of dividends and give back to investors through "real money".
Up to now, 204 listed companies in Shenzhen have disclosed and actively promoted the action plan of "double improvement of quality and return", with a total cash dividend of 196.406 billion yuan in 2023, with an average cash dividend ratio of 40.63%, and the annual dividend amount and proportion have reached a new high, with a significant demonstration effect.
Industry insiders said that the increase in cash dividends of listed companies not only responds to the call of the new "National Nine Articles" to enhance the stability, sustainability and predictability of dividends, but also the pragmatic measures of the "double promotion" action to improve the level of investor returns, and really enhances the sense of gain of investors.
"Double new high" responds to "double promotion"
On April 24, 2024, the board of directors of Wuliangye Company deliberated and approved the 2023 profit distribution plan, distributing cash dividends of 46.70 yuan (tax included) to all shareholders for every 10 shares, with a cash dividend ratio of 60%, and a total cash dividend of 18.127 billion yuan, both the dividend ratio and the dividend scale hit a new high since listing.
"Wuliangye continues to practice the core value concept of creating good returns for investors, and actively shares the company's development results with all shareholders while focusing on its own development and improving the company's performance." The relevant person in charge of Wuliangye said.
Ping An Bank's annual dividend ratio has increased significantly. According to the "2023 Annual Equity Distribution Implementation Announcement" disclosed by Ping An Bank on May 24, 2024, the company distributed cash dividends of 7.19 yuan to all shareholders for every 10 shares, with a dividend amount of 13.953 billion yuan, a significant increase of 152% over 2022, and the dividend payment ratio increased from 12.15% in 2022 to 30%, and the level of investor returns was significantly enhanced.
In response to the "double improvement of quality and return", it has become the consensus of listed companies in Shenzhen since the special action to give back to investors with "real money".
Statistics show that the total cash dividends of 204 Shenzhen-listed companies that disclosed the action plan of "double improvement of quality and return" in 2023 will be 196.406 billion yuan, with an average cash dividend ratio of 40.63%, both of which are record highs.
It is worth mentioning that CATL's profit distribution plan for 2023 includes annual cash dividends and special cash dividends. On the one hand, the company pays 20.11 yuan for every 10 shares to all shareholders as an annual cash dividend, and on the other hand, in order to actively implement the action plan of "double improvement of quality and return", the company distributes 30.17 yuan for every 10 shares to all shareholders as a special cash dividend, with a total dividend amount of 22.06 billion yuan and a dividend payment ratio of about 50%.
The new "National Nine Articles" clearly put forward the need to strengthen the supervision of cash dividends of listed companies, and promote multiple dividends a year, pre-dividends, and dividends before the Spring Festival.
The reporter found that a number of listed companies that disclosed the action plan of "double improvement of quality and return" made arrangements for the interim dividend in 2024 and actively responded to the new "National Nine Articles".
Taking Runze Technology as an example, since its establishment 15 years ago, the company has always adhered to continuous and large-scale investment in the fields of intelligent computing power, computing infrastructure, and digital economy, and has the leading domestic investment, R&D, construction, and operation service capabilities. The company actively responded to the special action of "double improvement of quality and return", and disclosed the "Announcement on the Interim Profit Distribution Plan for 2023 and 2024" on April 18, 2024, in which the board of directors proposed to distribute an annual dividend of 219 million yuan in cash dividends for 2023, and requested the general meeting of shareholders to authorize the board of directors to formulate a medium-term cash dividend plan for 2024 of no more than 700 million yuan.
The performance is good, and the foundation for returns is solid
The quality of listed companies is the foundation of the investment value of the capital market. The dividends of real money of listed companies need the support of operating quality and business performance.
Founded in 2011, Anker Innovations is mainly engaged in the independent research and development, design and sales of consumer electronics products such as mobile device accessories and smart hardware under its own brand. In 2023, Anker Innovation's revenue will reach 17.507 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.85%; The net profit attributable to the parent company was 1.615 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.22%, and according to its report for the first quarter of 2024, the company's operating income was 4.378 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.09%.
On April 25, 2024, the company announced that it intends to distribute cash dividends of 813 million yuan to all shareholders, which is expected to account for 50.34% of the net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company in 2023, and intends to distribute dividends in the first half of 2024 by combining undistributed profits and current results.
Based on the field of optical communication, Tianfu Communication has long been committed to the research and development, production, sales and service of various medium and high-speed optical device products, and has been listed as one of the "Top 10 Most Competitive Enterprises in China's Optical Devices, Auxiliary Equipment and Raw Materials" for six consecutive years from 2018 to 2023, and has developed into a leading enterprise in the field of core components of optical devices in the world. According to its first quarter report of 2024, in the first quarter of 2024, the company achieved a total operating income of 732 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 154.95%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 279 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 202.68%
The company disclosed in its 2023 annual report that it intends to distribute dividends in the first half of 2024 by combining undistributed profits with current results, and the total amount of cash dividends distributed will not exceed the net profit of the current period.
High-quality dividends promote the formation of a new market ecology
In fact, many of the companies that have disclosed and promoted the "Double Improvement of Quality and Return" action plan have not only actively paid dividends recently, but also set an example for the entire market in terms of enhancing the stability, sustainability and predictability of dividends.
Luzhou Laojiao clearly stipulates in the Articles of Association that the annual dividend ratio in the form of cash or stock shall not be less than 50% of the distributable profit of the current year, of which the profit distributed in cash shall not be less than 30% of the distributable profit of the current year. Since its listing, the company has accumulated a total cash dividend of 35.353 billion yuan, with a dividend rate of 61.14%.
Since its listing in 2010, Hikvision has achieved a compound growth rate of 30% in operating income, a compound growth rate of 23% in net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies, a cumulative net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of 101.895 billion yuan, and a cumulative cash dividend of 50.008 billion yuan. In the 2023 profit distribution plan, the company will distribute 9 yuan for every 10 shares, with a total cash dividend of about 8.4 billion yuan, and the dividend payment ratio is close to 60%.
Since its listing 15 years ago, iFLYTEK has insisted on implementing cash dividends every year. The company's accumulated profit distributed in cash in the past three years accounted for 118% of the average annual distributable profit realized in the last three years.
BOE has implemented cash dividends for 9 consecutive years from 2015 to 2023, with a cumulative amount of more than 20 billion yuan, and the annual cash dividend ratio from 2018 to 2023 has always maintained more than 30% of the net profit attributable to the parent company, allowing investors to share the fruits of growth with the company.
Another example is Anke Biotechnology, the company has continued to pay dividends since its listing, with cash dividends for 14 consecutive years, and the cumulative amount of cash dividends implemented is 1.827 billion yuan, which is 1.85 times the actual funds raised by IPO and refinancing, accounting for 67.65% of the cumulative net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies during the period. The company said that it will continue to implement a long-term, stable and sustainable shareholder value return mechanism according to the development stage it is in, maintain the continuity and stability of the profit distribution policy, and effectively allow investors to share the development results of the company.
In addition, since its listing in September 2017, Guangwei Composite Materials has implemented cash dividends for 7 consecutive years, with a cumulative cash dividend of 1.848 billion yuan, which is 195.29% of the company's net raised funds.
Driven by the "Quality and Return Improvement" initiative, the ideas and practices of these companies are further influencing more companies and helping to form a better market ecology.