Dividends coming despite drop in profits

The top five companies paying dividends are Advance Info Service Plc (dividends worth Bt11.23 billion), PTT Exploration and Production (Bt8.93 billion), Siam Cement Plc (Bt8.4 billion), Siam Commercial Bank Plc (Bt5.09 billion) and Thanachart Capital Plc (Bt4.58 billion).
Kasikorn Securities Plc calculated that the dividend payments for the first half topped net profit, which dropped 17 per cent from the same period last year.
“Most of the listed companies have decided to pay the dividend because they’ve delayed their investment plans due to slower national economic growth,” the firm said in a statement. “Paying a dividend to their shareholders is better than keeping cash in reserve.”
Terdsak Taweethiratham, vice president of Asia Plus Securities Co Ltd, said the dividend represented about 54 per cent of net profits from the first half of the year.