Diverse Income Share Discussion Threads

[tenapen] 02/4/2020 16:54

Hi, one of the sector's that do well in times of volatility are brokers. I would imagine the last two weeks have been a boom with increased trading as people run for the exit !. To every positive there is always a negatity and with interest rates at near zero the brokers will not be making on the money they hold. Just an idea and no advice intended. Regards. An FT graph on daily trade volumes. Https://markets.ft.com/data/indices/tearsheet/summary?s=FTSE:FSI

[bluemango] 02/4/2020 11:55

Surprised this thread isn't getting more attention. The shock coming as more companies suspend dividends in coming weeks and months is going to be incalculable - and I can't see Government coming to rescue of those of us depending on SIPP income (or other managed investments with income as main priority)

[waldron] 02/4/2020 07:18

Bouygues and Bunzl are the latest European firms to withdraw their 2020 guidance and cancel dividends due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on their businesses.

[waldron] 02/4/2020 06:50

Credit Agricole SA has decided to cancel the 2019 dividend following a recommendation from the European Central Bank. France's second-largest listed bank by assets will propose to shareholders meeting on May 13 to allocate the full net profit for last year to reserves, it said late Wednesday. The French bank's decision follows similar steps taken by other European peers, including France's Societe Generale SA, after the ECB asked the region's banks not to pay dividends or buy back shares during the coronavirus pandemic. The ECB wants banks to boost their ability to absorb losses and support the economy as the eurozone braces for a sharp economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. For this reason, it asked banks not to pay dividends for 2019 and 2020 at least until Oct. 1, adding that lenders should also avoid buybacks. The October deadline is incompatible with French laws, under which dividends have to be paid by the end of September, Credit Agricole said. The bank will lay out new guidelines for shareholders' returns in the second part of the year. These can include an interim or exceptional dividend. Cancelling the dividend for last year will boost Credit Agricole SA core capital ratio by 60 basis points, it said. Write to Pietro Lombardi at [e-mail] (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 02, 2020 01:37 ET (05:37 GMT)

[pugugly] 01/4/2020 06:57

RNWH and BARC -dividends suspended.

[florenceorbis] 01/4/2020 06:52

The Times: Glencore has postponed a decision on whether to pay its proposed $2.6 billion dividend this year amid risk that its production could be significantly disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

[waldron] 31/3/2020 12:01

arcteryx 31 Mar '20 - 12:29 - 12114 of 12115 0 1 0 https://www.ft.com/content/ee832198-024b-4a0f-a61d-de767a1e6d6c Anjli Raval, Senior Energy Correspondent 25 minutes ago Shell secures $12bn credit facility to safeguard dividend Energy major boosts available liquidity to more than $40bn as coronavirus bites Royal Dutch Shell has secured a new $12bn credit facility as it seeks to safeguard dividends amid “significant uncertainty” spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. The Anglo-Dutch energy group said on Tuesday that the arrangement, which follows a $10bn facility obtained in December, had boosted its available liquidity to more than $40bn. The company’s shares rose 6 per cent in morning trading in London. “We have seen and expect significant uncertainty . . . with regards to prices and demand for oil, gas and related products,” Shell said, citing the impact of coronavirus on the global economy as well as the Saudi-led price war and a flood of new supplies to the market. Brent crude fell this week to its lowest level since 2002. The company said new oil price assumptions would lead to a post-tax impairment charge of $400m to $800m, expected to be disclosed when it reports its first-quarter earnings on April 30. While Shell pointed to previous guidance that every $10-a-barrel decline in the Brent crude price cost it $6bn a year, it warned that this estimate was “most applicable to smaller price changes than we currently witness”. The Brent crude price has plunged to $23 a barrel from $70 in January. Shares in Shell, which is one of the world’s biggest dividend payers, have plunged 40 per cent over the same period. Shell said the effects of the coronavirus crisis would primarily be reflected in this month’s earnings, with only a “relatively minor impact” in January and February, before most of the restrictions on movement and activity were imposed in countries worldwide. Last week Shell said it would suspend its share buyback programme and announced that capital expenditure would fall to $20bn or less this year, from initial plans for $25bn. It said its operating costs would also decline by $3bn to $4bn. “Shell has the balance sheet capacity and ability to cut capex to survive in the current environment without a significant cut to dividends, but if this outlook was to last for more than nine to 12 months, we would expect a cut,” said Biraj Borkhataria at RBC Capital Markets. Oil and gas majors were under pressure before coronavirus hit, having pledged to maintain shareholder payouts and sustain hydrocarbon earnings despite macroeconomic weakness, while pivoting towards greener businesses. Coronavirus trajectory tracker explained “Expectations for increased shareholder returns are no longer viable,” said Jefferies analyst Jason Gammel in a note last week. While he said existing payouts were generally safe for now, “the return of scrip dividends seems likely”, referring to the option for investors to receive additional shares instead of cash payments.

[waldron] 28/3/2020 14:37

CHUCKLE WHAT THINK YOU GARY

[gary1966] 28/3/2020 10:59

So are world governments going to pay people that live off their dividend income, 80% up to £2500pm as well?

[waldron] 28/3/2020 07:33

More than 100 British companies halt dividend payments due to coronavirus pandemic share with twitter share with LinkedIn share with facebook share via e-mail 0 03/27/2020 | 06:56pm GMT A usually crowded Canary Wharf is seen at lunchtime in London More than 100 British companies have postponed or ditched dividend payments in a bid to preserve cash for what could be a lengthy enforced shutdown of large parts of the UK and global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic. Data from investment firm AJ Bell released on Friday showed that retailers, housebuilders and telecoms firms as well as plenty of other sectors halted a combined 4.2 billion pounds of dividend payments in March alone. Two real estate companies -- Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey -- accounted for a combined 1.24 billion pounds after builders started shutting construction sites as demands from new buyers plummeted. More recently, the UK government urged people to avoid moving house and requested builders to halt non-essential construction work during the virus outbreak. Persimmon postponed a 751.8 million pound dividend payment, while fellow builder Taylor Wimpey cancelled its final and special dividends for 2020, a total 485.7 million pounds. Broadcaster ITV said it would not pay one either after the coronavirus hit its advertising revenues and forced Britain's biggest commercial free-to-air broadcaster to suspend production of its top soap operas "Coronation Street" and "Emmerdale". Retailer Marks & Spencer ditched its 2019-20 final dividend too, saying it was no longer able to provide any meaningful guidance on its likely earnings for 2020-21 after its stores were shut. There have only been nine exceptions to the rule so far this month, including from utility firm SSE and Coca Cola HBC AG, according to AJ Bell and even they were not straight forward. SSE said it might need to change the timing of its full-year dividend of 80 pence per share for 2019-20 based on how the Covid-19 impact evolves, while Coca Cola was another firm that withdrew its guidance for the current financial year. The London Stock Exchange said on Wednesday it would allow companies listed on its market to defer payment of dividends for up to 30 days due to coronavirus hitting markets. (Reporting by Joice Alves, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

[waldron] 28/3/2020 07:00

FRANCE: BERCY SETS ITS CONDITIONS FOR THE PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS Companies receiving public aid set up to try to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic will not have to pay dividends or face repaying aid and paying penalties, the Minister of Finance said on Friday. French Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire. The government is thus toughening the tone on the opportunity for companies to distribute part of their cash to their shareholders as France is heading for a recession this year. "Companies that need cash today, especially big companies, if they need cash and they ask for state aid, they can't, they don't have to pay dividends. And we will ensure that it is respected, "said Bruno Le Maire on BFMTV. "All the companies which would have benefited from deferrals of social or tax charges and who would have paid dividends will be obliged to repay this cash advance on social and tax charges with an interest penalty," he added. Bercy will also refuse to companies that have paid dividends to benefit from the state guarantee for new bank loans, the minister continued. THE SHAREHOLDER STATE COULD VOTE AGAINST DIVIDENDS "And believe me, these big companies which would ask for a bank loan without the guarantee of the State will have trouble finding this bank loan," he said. Employers who will benefit from the state-funded partial unemployment scheme are called to "the greatest moderation" when it comes to dividends. Finally, Bruno Le Maire announced that state representatives would vote, during general meetings of companies in which he is a shareholder, against the payment of dividends if they have benefited from a public aid scheme. The advisability of distributing dividends was raised at the start of the day at the social partners' meeting organized by the government to take stock of the coronavirus epidemic and its economic and social consequences. Bruno Le Maire had called on big companies last week to show moderation in the matter and Tuesday, the secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, had followed suit by urging large groups not to pay this year given the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic, which put France on hold. The union welcomed Friday the announcements of Bruno Le Maire, welcoming in a press release "a strong signal calling on businesses to be consistent". This debate goes far beyond French borders: several European companies have already given up paying dividends and on Friday, the European Central Bank (ECB) asked the banks placed under its supervision to suspend their dividends and share buybacks, until October 1 at least. (Marine Pennetier, edited by Marc Angrand)

[praipus] 18/3/2020 22:27

PUT option insurance in place still ? These guys should be absolutely loaded :)

[adrian j boris] 14/10/2019 20:00

Top UK dividend payers Rank Company 1 HSBC (HSBA) 2 Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) 3 Rio Tinto (RIO) 4 BP (BP) 5 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Subtotal £11.9bn % of total dividends 33% 6 BHP Group (BHP) 7 British American Tobacco (BATS) 8 Glencore (GLEN) 9 National Grid (NG) 10 BT (BT) 11 Vodafone (VOD) 12 GlaxosmithKline (GSK) 13 Astrazeneca (AZN) 14 Lloyds (LLOY) 15 Anglo American (AAL) Subtotal £10.1bn Top 15 grand total £22bn % of total dividends 62%

[aleman] 14/10/2019 19:52

Https://citywire.co.uk/investment-trust-insider/news/alarm-bells-ring-as-uk-dividend-growth-slows/a1279144

[waldron] 07/10/2019 05:35

the motely fool Forget the State Pension or a Cash ISA! I’d live off BP and Royal Dutch Shell’s 7% yields Harvey Jones | Sunday, 6th October, 2019 | More on: BP RDSB A golden egg in a nest Image source: Getty Images. The State Pension isn’t enough to give you a comfortable retirement and saving money in a Cash ISA won’t help much, as most now pay less than 1% a year. FTSE 100 oil giants BP (LSE: BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) look far more tempting as they both yield nearly 7% a year. Both are worth buying – just make sure you understand the risks as well as the rewards. Crude facts It already seems an age since the oil price surged in the wake of the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia Aramco facilities, which led to dire predictions of $300 oil. Crude has now fallen to a two-month low, with Brent comfortably below $60, as Saudi officials report that production has been restored to pre-attack levels. The BP share price is sliding as a result, and so is Shell. Soft global economic data isn’t helping, while US crude stockpiles have just registered a third straight weekly climb. With supply continuing to outweigh demand, BP is down almost 20% this year, while the Shell share price is off more than 15%. They have disappointed over five years as well, with BP up just 10% in that time, and Shell down 4%. The FTSE 100 rose around 15% over the same period. Dividend income heroes The good news is that both now offer healthy dividend streams, regardless of where their share prices go. BP currently yields 6.7%, with cover of 1.2, while Shell yields 6.6%, covered 1.5 times. These are comfortably above the FTSE 100 average yield of around 4.5%, although Shell has struggled to raise its dividend lately. BP and Shell are also trading at a discount, 12.3% and 12.7% times earnings respectively, against the FTSE 100 average of 17.17 times. These look like bargain prices. There are so many companies on the FTSE 100 in this position, which makes now a great time to pick up dividend stocks and hold them for the long term to give your retirement plans a real boost. Share price growth on top would be a bonus. Climate challenge After years of denial and delay, big oil now has to face up to the challenge of climate change, as solar and wind prices tumble, and motorists switch on to electric cars. BP is steadily remodelling itself, exploring everything from car charging networks to solar plants to biofuels. Some of these could deliver lucrative new income streams, others could swallow huge sums of cash and sink. Relying purely on oil and gas is no longer an option, so the challenge has to be met. Otherwise the backlash could be brutal. Shell plans to double the amount it spends on green energy to £3.2bn a year. There is a long road ahead, though. Major investments Shell remains the largest stock on the FTSE 100 with a market cap of £185bn; BP is in fourth place with £99bn. The world still runs on oil, even if we would rather it didn’t. BP is mostly over the Deepwater disaster and its earnings are forecast to rise 10% this year and 15% next. Shell looks patchier, with a forecast 16% drop in earnings this year, followed by a 24% rise in 2020. I still think both still merit a place in a well-balanced portfolio, and should keep your retirement income flowing nicely.

[jeffian] 30/9/2019 14:56

I do hate to see the term “unearned income” creeping back into use (even if it was in the Observer!). This heavily emotive description of investment income, interest, rents etc is the starting point for those who would seek to differentiate between different forms of income, usually to justify higher tax rates such as the 'unearned income surcharge' of the 1970's in which 15% was added on top of other tax bands which at that time resulted in a marginal tax rate of 98%. Far from taxing various forms of income differently, I'm a proponent of a Flat Tax Rate on all income and profits from whatever source, but that's a discussion for another day on a different thread. Meanwhile, as a fairly recent recipient of the State Pension, I tremulously wait to see how Mr. McDonnell plans to tax that "unearned income"!

[waldron] 27/9/2019 12:46

Https://seekingalpha.com/article/4293242-royal-dutch-shell-stable-dividend-6_4-percent-yield-volatile-sector Risks: Lower oil and gas prices will impact cash flow generation Regardless of how the company operates, lower oil and gas prices will have a negative impact on the company's cash flows and investor sentiment. Having said that, it is important to note that the company has a remarkably consistent history of maintaining and growing dividends across oil & gas cycles. As can be seen from the chart below, the company's dividend history has not at all mirrored volatility in oil prices. The company achieves this by levering the balance sheet during difficult times to maintain dividend and delivering during better times to reinstate the dividend buffer. Source: Yahoo Finance, Blue Harbinger Research Macro slowdown could impede future asset sales The company's plans to return cash flow to shareholders also rely on its ability to prune its portfolio of assets by $20 billion over time. A macro slowdown that leads to drying up of capital or reduced valuation will have a negative impact on the divestiture activity at the company. Conclusion: Royal Dutch Shell's 'B' shares, at a 6.4% dividend yield, present an attractive risk-reward for income-oriented investors. We've ranked RDS.B shares #4 on our list of top big safe yields in the energy sector (ahead of BP at #5) because the company has consistently grown dividends to shareholders despite the swings associated with oil and gas prices via a focus on improving efficiencies, asset portfolio, and careful use of leverage. We expect the company to continue returning cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks in the near to medium term. All of our Blue Harbinger portfolios have continued to perform very well in terms of both attractive income and continuing price appreciation, and we believe they are attractively positioned going forward. As our members are aware, we have been taking advantage of recent volatility to deploy capital to highly attractive opportunities.

[florenceorbis] 24/9/2019 07:19

Total Accelerates Dividend Growth share with twitter share with LinkedIn share with facebook share via e-mail 0 09/24/2019 | 07:32am BST By Pietro Lombardi Total SA (FP.FR) will accelerate the growth of dividends in the next few years, the French oil major said Tuesday. The company now targets an increase of 5% to 6% per year, compared with a previous guidance of 3%. The proposed third interim dividend for this year will be EUR 0.68 ($0.75) a share, a 6% increase over last year. "These decisions reflect the board's confidence in the Group's ability to deliver profitable and sustainable growth in the coming years," it said. Write to Pietro Lombardi at [e-mail]