The Consunji Group’s flagship DMCI Holdings Inc. has declared a special cash dividend of P6.4 billion or P0.48 per common share for shareholders on record as of October 30, 2024.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said ex-dividend date has been set on October 29, 2024 while payment will be made on November 15, 2024.
This special dividend is on top of DMCI’s payment of P0.72 per common share in regular and special dividends declared last April 4.
With this October declaration, DMC’s total dividend payout for 2024 reached P1.20 per share or P15.9 billion, which represents 65 percent of the company’s core net income in 2023.
DMCI Holdings has a dividend policy that commits to a dividend payout ratio of at least 25 percent of the preceding year's consolidated core net income.
The total payout translates to 10 percent in dividend yield, based on DMC’s October 15, 2024 closing price of P11.72.
DMCI reported a 20 percent decline in consolidated net income to P24.9 billion last year from the P31.1 billion it earned in 2022.
The firm said “Higher net income contributions from the real estate, off-grid energy, and water utility businesses muted the impact of lower contributions from the integrated energy, nickel and construction subsidiaries.”
“We saw sharp corrections in commodity and energy prices in 2023 but because our businesses did very well in terms of production and sales volume, we managed to prevent a severe decline in our profitability,” said DMCI Holdings Chairman and President Isidro A. Consunji.
Average Newcastle and Indonesian Coal Index 4 prices dropped by 64 percent and 26 percent, respectively, while Philippine Freight on Board nickel price (for 1.30 percent Ni) fell by 30 percent.
Average effective spot settlement price (ESSP) for all grids across the Philippines likewise declined double digits at 18 percent.
In 2023, consolidated revenues dropped by 14 percent to P122.8 billion from P142.6 billion the prior year due to normalizing coal, nickel and electricity prices, alongside a slowdown in construction and real estate activities, and an increase in revenue reversals stemming from the cancellation of real estate sales.
For the first half of 2024, DMCI reported a 29 percent decline in net income to P11.1 billion from P15.6 billion in the same period last year.
The firm said the lower earnings is primarily due to reduced contributions from its coal mining, on-grid power, real estate and construction subsidiaries, as well as a net loss in the nickel mining business.
It noted that, “Stronger contributions from the water and off-grid segments partially mitigated these impacts.”
“We are now in the new normal. Market prices and global supply chains have normalized, so our challenge is to strategically manage costs, optimize operational efficiency and capitalize on synergies across our business units,” said Consunji.