payout policy Flashcards
companies that distribute cash to their shareholders do so in 2 main ways?
- paying dividends
- repurchasing shares
what 2 questions does the payout policy involve?
- how much cash, if any, to pay to shareholders
- the form of payment needs to be decided i.e. should the company pay dividends or repurchase shares?
decisions on a company’s payout policy should be consistent with?
the company’s overall objective to maximise shareholders’ wealth
how often do australian companies make dividend payments?
Companies in Australia typically make two dividend payments each year
business decisions include
what is dividend policy?
investment, financing and dividend
dividend policy –> Determining how much of a company’s profit is to be paid to shareholders as dividends and how much is to be retained
payout policy tree diagram

who is responsible for the company’s dividend decisions
Provided that the legal requirements and the exchange’s listing requirements are met, a company’s dividend decisions are at the discretion of its directors.
when do companies in Australia pay dividend?
In Australia, companies generally pay an interim dividend after the end of the first half of the financial year and a final dividend after the company’s Annual General Meeting.
important dates for dividend

what is the record date?
A company’s Board of Directors, when announcing a dividend, specific a ‘record date’.
- This is the day which the company’s ‘books’ will close for the purpose of determining who is currently a shareholder, and hence entitled to receive the dividend.
what is the ex-dividend date?
For shares listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the rules of the exchange specify an ex-dividend date, which is 4 days before the dividend’s record date
- date on which a share begins trading ex-dividend. a person who purchases on or after the ex-dividend date will not be eligible to receive dividends
investors who purchase their shares before the ex-dividend date,
buy the shares cum-dividend and are entitled to receive the dividend.
why is that those who purchases the shares ex-dividend are not elibible to receive the dividend?
it takes 3 days to be registered when purchasing a share
what is a franked dividend?
dividend paid out of Australian company profits on which company income tax has been paid and which carries a franking credit
When a dividend is declared, the company must state
the extent to which the dividend is franked. When a dividend is paid, the company is required to provide each shareholder with a dividend statement.
what does the dividend statement contain?
This statement shows the
- amount of the dividend and the date of payment
- the amount of any franked and unfranked parts of the dividend
- if the dividend is fully or partially franked, the amount of the franking credit.
what is repurchasing shares an alternative way of?
distributing cash to shareholders
what is the payable date?
aka Distribution Date
A date, generally within a month after the record date, on which a firm mails dividend checks to its registered stockholders
A company purchases its own shares on the stock market and then proceeds to
nto either cancel them (Australia) or retain them as treasury stock (US).
legal requirements regarding buybacks
what is the general rule and what is the exception to sharebuybacks?
s. 259A of the Corporations Act generally precludes a company from purchasing its own shares.
Exceptions were introduced in 1989 and later revised in 1995
legal rquirements regarding buybacks
how much can the company repurchase?
general companies are able to repurchase up to 10 per cent of their ordinary shares in a 12-month period
share repurchases
what happens once the transfer of ownership has been processed
In each case, once the transfer of ownership has been processed the shares must be cancelled.
is payout policy important to shareholders?
in many cases, a payment is inappropiate b/c
the company has attractive investment opportunities and shareholders are expected to receive a greater benefit if the company’s cash is used to take up these opportunities instead of paying it out now.
is payout policy important to shareholders?
3 payout/dividend policies that might be adopted
- Residual dividend policy
- Smoothed dividend policy
- Constant payout policy


