Cash dividends paid out by companies listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange to common shareholders improved by 17.3 percent to P402.18 billion in 2021 from 2020’s P342.88 billion, boosted by real estate trust issues of listed firms.

Data collated by the bourse show that this translates to dividend yields of 2.58 percent and 2.50 percent, respectively.

For PSEi companies, the cash dividends paid by 28 of the 30 main index members amounted to P157.58 billion, giving common shareholders a 1.72 percent dividend yield.

In 2020, 29 PSEi constituents distributed P157.05 billion in cash dividends, providing a dividend yield of 1.76 percent. Among the six sectors in the PSE, Financials had the largest dividend payout at Php187.55 billion.

“The gradual reopening of the local economy allowed companies to generate better income, which resulted in bigger dividends for shareholders. We hope that earnings growth among PLCs continues to improve to ensure steady dividend income for stock market investors,” said PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon.

Among the PLCs that paid dividends were the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) listed in the PSE namely, AREIT, Inc., DDMP REIT, Inc., Filinvest REIT Corp., RL Commercial REIT, Inc., and MREIT, Inc.

They had an aggregate cash dividend payout of P5.77 billion, resulting in 2.16 percent dividend yield, even as three of the five REITs were only listed for an average of four months.

“REITs have become a preferred asset class among investors because of its dividend mandate. With more REITs expected to list this year, including non-property REITs, investors will have a wider selection of companies that can provide passive income,” Monzon explained.

In 2021, 108 of 276 PLCs gave out cash dividends compared with 105 of 271 in the year before.

“With around 40 percent of PLCs giving out dividends to their common shareholders, we deemed it necessary to showcase companies that provide high dividend income to investors by coming up with a Dividend Yield Index. This thematic index will be one of the new indices that we will be introducing within the semester,” Monzon added.