Shareholders Rejoice: A Whopping 30% Dividend Payout on the Horizon

In 2024, bank shareholders rejoiced as they received better dividends than ever before, with a balance between cash and stock options. According to estimates and announcements made by banks, the total amount of cash dividends distributed by banks to shareholders for the fiscal year 2023 is approximately VND 33 trillion. In addition to cash payments, many banks have announced plans to issue stock dividends to increase their charter capital. For instance, HDBank, MB, and OCB offered 15%, while Nam A Bank offered 25%, and SHB 11% in stock dividends. Most recently, the Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (HoSE: MSB) announced that August 29, 2023, would be the record date for a 30% stock dividend.

MSB will increase its capital by issuing shares to pay dividends from retained earnings as of the audited financial statements on December 31, 2023, after allocating funds to statutory reserves. The issuance ratio is 30% of the total outstanding shares (for every 100 shares held, shareholders will receive 30 new shares), equivalent to issuing 600 million new shares. With this ratio, MSB becomes the bank with the highest dividend payout this year. Following the capital increase, the total number of outstanding shares will be 2.6 billion, corresponding to a new charter capital of VND 26,000 billion.

MSB recently announced stable growth in most key indicators for the second quarter. As of June 30, 2024, total assets reached more than VND 295,500 billion, up 10.69% from the end of 2023. Standalone credit growth reached 12.41%, while consolidated customer deposits and securities increased by 15% and 64%, respectively, compared to the end of 2023. Consolidated net revenue for the first six months reached VND 7,031 billion, a 10% increase year-over-year. MSB recorded a consolidated pre-tax profit of nearly VND 3,690 billion for the first six months, up 4% from the same period last year, achieving 54% of the annual profit plan.