India Inc’s dividend payout falls for first time in 5 years; income falls for private promoters

India Inc's private sector promoters took home Rs 41,947cr as dividends, a 17% drop compared with the last year. The payout fell for the first time in five years following slower growth in net profit due to subdued industrial and consumer demand. The government was, however, able to reap 12% more dividend at Rs 38,906 crore bolstered by select players in the energy, logistics, minerals and power sectors.

According to an ETIG analysis, a sample of 4,734 public and private firms paid Rs 1.5 lakh crore in dividend -5% lower than last fiscal. The sample's net profit fell by 8% to Rs 3.3 lakh crore. The sharper drop in profit compared with dividends increased the payout ratio to 43.8% -highest in five years.

In the private sector, Vedanta emerged as the top dividend payer with an outgo of Rs 12,832 crore. Tata Group was second with Rs 10,690 crore dividend. Of the 581 firms that reported YoY improvement in dividend payment, 117 (nearly one out of every five companies) also reported a drop in net profit.