Zhengdan Shares Global Sub., Prod. Base.

A-share mid-year dividends in 2024 set a historical record for the same period.

This year, regulatory authorities and exchanges have continued to guide listed companies to increase the intensity and frequency of dividends.

In March, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision of Listed Companies (Trial)", proposing to promote multiple dividends per year. In April, the State Council released the "Several Opinions on Strengthening Supervision, Preventing Risks, and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Capital Market", which clearly called for enhancing the stability, continuity, and predictability of dividends, and promoting multiple dividends per year, pre-dividend distribution, and dividends before the Spring Festival.

The enthusiasm for dividends among A-share companies continues to rise. Against the backdrop of last year's record highs in total dividend amount, the number of dividend-paying companies, and the number of companies with dividends over ten billion, several indicators related to mid-year dividends this year have also set historical records.

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Mid-year dividends set a historical record for the same period

In recent years, the total amount of dividends paid by A-share listed companies has continuously set new historical records: the total dividend amount first broke through 500 billion yuan in 2011, surpassed the trillion yuan mark for the first time in 2017, broke through the 2 trillion yuan mark in 2022, and the A-share dividends exceeded 2.2 trillion yuan in 2023.

Entering 2024, the intensity of dividends by listed companies continues to increase, and the scale of mid-year dividends has set a new historical record: the number of dividend-paying companies exceeds 660, surpassing the number of dividend-paying companies in the same period from 2021 to 2023 (a total of more than 510); the proposed total dividend amount exceeds 520 billion yuan, close to the sum of the dividend amounts in the same period of the previous three years. In addition, the proportion of dividend-paying companies and the proportion of dividends to net profits have also set historical records for the same period.

Looking at the mid-year dividend amounts in 2024, the banking industry continues to dominate the dividend list, with a total industry dividend amount of 214.412 billion yuan, far ahead of other industries, accounting for nearly 41% of the total A-share dividends. In addition, the dividends in industries such as petroleum and petrochemicals, communications, non-bank finance, transportation, and medical and biological sectors all exceed ten billion yuan.

Compared to the past, the willingness to distribute dividends in the non-bank financial industry's securities sector has greatly increased, with 25 stocks planning to distribute more than 13 billion yuan in mid-year dividends, with CITIC Securities distributing nearly 3.6 billion yuan at the top, and both Huatai Securities and Guotai Junan distributing more than 1.3 billion yuan.

11 stocks with dividends over ten billion yuanDividends are an important indicator of value investing and have been increasingly gaining the attention of investors. Accordingly, Data Treasure has compiled lists such as the "A-Share Mid-2024 Dividend Ranking" and the "A-Share Mid-2024 Dividend Yield Ranking" to cater to readers.

The dividend ranking reveals that 45 stocks have mid-term dividend amounts exceeding 10 billion yuan, with 11 stocks crossing the 100 billion yuan threshold. Specifically, after dominating the A-share dividend list for two consecutive years, ICBC tops the mid-term dividend list this year with 51.109 billion yuan. China Mobile is in second place, planning to distribute 51.027 billion yuan in dividends. CCB ranks third with 49.252 billion yuan in mid-term dividends. In addition, dividends from Agricultural Bank of China, PetroChina, Bank of China, and CNOOC all exceed 30 billion yuan.

In the three years since its listing on the A-share market, CNOOC has maintained high dividends. In 2022, it distributed over 109.1 billion yuan, with a dividend payout ratio of 77%; in 2023, it distributed nearly 54.3 billion yuan, with a payout ratio close to 44%; and this year's mid-term dividend is nearly 32.1 billion yuan, with a payout ratio exceeding 40%. In the first half of this year, the company achieved a total operating income of 226.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18%, and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 79.731 billion yuan, a historical high for the same period, with a year-on-year increase of 25.05%.

Mindray Medical, a medical industry leader, is the only private enterprise to enter the top twenty of the mid-term dividend amount ranking, planning to distribute a cash dividend of 40.6 yuan (including tax) per 10 shares, totaling approximately 4.923 billion yuan in cash dividends. In the first half of the year, the company achieved a total operating income of 20.531 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.12%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 7.561 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.37%, and a year-on-year increase of 22.13% after excluding the impact of exchange gains and losses.

35 stocks have a mid-term dividend payout ratio exceeding 100%. The dividend amount is of significant reference value, and the proportion of profits, i.e., the dividend payout ratio, to some extent, represents the company's ability and willingness to pay dividends.

According to Data Treasure statistics, as many as 35 stocks have a mid-2024 dividend payout ratio exceeding 100%, meaning that mid-term dividends exceed net profits. Among them, Fenglong Shares and LianDi Information have dividend payout ratios exceeding 25 times, with the former planning to distribute 20.48 million yuan and the mid-term net profit being 660.8 thousand yuan; the latter planning to distribute 25.35 million yuan, with the mid-term net profit being 311.5 thousand yuan.

The high dividend payout ratio of stocks with a low net profit base is not very meaningful. According to Data Treasure statistics, there are 16 stocks with a net profit exceeding 50 million yuan in the first half of 2024 and a dividend payout ratio exceeding 100%. Among them, DiAn Diagnostics' dividend amount reaches 398 million yuan, more than five times its first-half net profit, and the dividend payout ratios of MeiYingSen, GuangRi Shares, and Mulinsen all exceed 200%.