Public joint-stock companies pay AED 61.73b in cash dividends

Public joint-stock companies in the UAE distributed a total of AED 61.73 billion in cash dividends and bonus shares during the past year according to the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA).

AED 58 billion was allocated to cash dividends, while AED 3.72 billion was distributed as bonus shares, SCA said in a report sent exclusively to the Emirates News Agency.

The banking sector emerged as the top dividend payer, with AED 18.35 billion in cash dividends, followed by the energy sector which distributed AED 11.36 billion.

Other significant contributors included telecommunications and utilities at approximately AED 8.73 billion and AED 8.72 respectively.

The real estate sector ranked fifth with total distributions of AED 5.54 billion, followed by the transportation sector with AED 1.87 billion, the services sector with AED 1.06 billion, the insurance sector with AED 975.3 million, the investment and financial services sector with AED 849.9 million.

Then came the industrial sector with AED 274.04 million and the consumer goods sector with AED 199.6 million.

Non-listed companies accounted for AED 60 million in total distributions.

The cash dividends included both those approved by general assemblies and those based on interim financial results for 2023.

The banking sector also dominated bonus share distributions, totaling AED 3.439 billion, followed by the services sector with AED 281.7 million.