Listed firms' dividends dip 7.1 pct in 2022

▲ Workers monitor the stock market at Hana Bank's headquarters in central Seoul on April 18, 2023. (Yonhap)

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Listed firms' dividends dip 7.1 pct in 2022

SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean listed firms' dividend payouts fell 7.1 percent in 2022 from a year earlier amid rate hikes and other unfavorable business conditions, the bourse operator said Wednesday.

The combined dividend payments of 557 out of the 784 companies listed on the main KOSPI market with fiscal years ending in December came to 26.6 trillion won (US$20.1 billion) last year, down from 28.6 trillion won in 2021, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

The average dividend payout per company also fell by 7.2 percent from 51.5 billion won to 47.7 billion won over the same period.

Nearly 95 percent of firms handed out dividends for the second consecutive year in 2022, up 2.7 percent from the previous year.

The number of firms that paid out dividends for five straight years also increased by 3.2 percent on-year from 432 to 446.

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