DBS’s board has also proposed a 1-for-10 bonus issue. The bonus shares will qualify for dividends starting in 1QFY2024 and “will increase the pace of capital returns to shareholders”, the DBS results release says.
DBS Group’s net profit crossed the $10 billion mark for the first time in FY2023, rising 26% y-o-y to $10.3 billion. Total income grew 22% to $20 billion on the back of higher net interest margin (NIM) of 2.15% for the full year, a rebound in fee income and record treasury customer sales. ROE rose to 18%, a new high, from 15%.
Shareholders are likely to cheer the board’s proposal to raise the final dividend to 54 cents in 4QFY2023, up 6 cents q-o-q. The full-year dividend is $1.92. Going forward, the quarterly dividend is likely to be raised to 54 cents translating into full-year dividend of $2.16 a year. Based on the closing price on Feb 2, DBS’s dividend yield is 7.5%.
