① The Fangda Special Steel Exchange inquired, and the exchange questioned that its profits did not pay dividends; ② the company's profits continued to decline, and there have been consecutive dividends for many years in history; ③ the regulatory attitude towards zero dividends has become stricter, and many companies have broken the tradition of no dividends for more than ten years.
Financial Services Association, March 29 (Reporter Luo Yichen) Under the trend of A-shares encouraging dividends, “one-size-fits-all” companies are receiving extra attention from regulation. This evening, Fangda Special Steel (600507.SH) received an inquiry letter from the exchange regarding issues such as the 2023 zero dividend plan.
In the inquiry letter, the exchange mentioned that Fangda Special Steel did not pay cash dividends for 2 consecutive years after years of continuous profits and high monetary fund balances. It requested an explanation of the reason, rationality, and whether large sums of money were idle.
According to reports, Fangda Special Steel has explained the 2023 distribution plan in detail, blaming the reason for zero dividends on “intensifying industry competition” and “seeking opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.” In addition, it also mentioned that after the end of the convertible bond program promoted in 2023, the company needs to continue to advance project construction through its own ownership and self-financing. In between rhetoric, it emphasized that its own financial pressure is high.
Judging from the performance, Fangda Special Steel is indeed facing a decline in profits. From 2021 to 2023, the company's net profit to mother continued to shrink, from 2,732 billion yuan in 2021 to a sharp drop of 689 million yuan in 2023. At the same time, the company's monetary fund balance has also shrunk.
Overall, Fangda Special Steel's dividend situation over the years is quite consistent with its profit performance. During the performance growth period until 2022, the company distributed profits continuously for many years. In 2021, as an example, the company distributed a cash dividend of 11.10 yuan (tax included) to all shareholders for every 10 shares. The total proposed cash dividend was 2,993 billion yuan (tax included), accounting for 87.60% of net profit attributable to mother for the year.
A Financial Services Association reporter noticed that as regulations require listed companies to increase their dividend strength, a number of companies have changed their old “iron rooster” style and are responding to dividends one after another. Companies with zero dividends for more than 10 consecutive years, such as Chifeng Gold (600988.SH) and China Iron Works (000927 .SZ), have all responded to the call this year, showing a positive attitude of rewarding investors.