[산업경제뉴스 문성희 기자] With the increase in non-face-to-face activities due to Corona 19, Samsung Electronics recorded an operating profit of 36 trillion won as the semiconductor and home appliance business showed good performance last year. Compared to 2017~2018, when the performance rose slightly from the previous year, but exceeded 50 trillion won, it is evaluated that it is still not completely out of the sluggishness.
The international price of semiconductors, the main business of Samsung Electronics, also fell from the 7-8 dollar range in 2017 to 2018 to 2-3 dollars, and there is still no signs of recovery.
However, Samsung Electronics recently announced that it has decided to implement a special dividend, advocating a’shareholder return policy’.
Samsung Electronics held a board of directors meeting on the 28th and announced the shareholder return policy to be pursued for three years from 2021 to 2023.
Samsung Electronics has maintained its policy of returning 50% of its free cash flow to shareholders for the next three years, and has decided to increase its regular dividend to 9.8 trillion won per year. From 2018 to 2020, 9.6 trillion won was paid annually as a dividend.
Particularly striking is the special dividend policy, which additionally pays shareholders when residual resources are generated within 50% of free cash flow for three years after regular dividends are paid.
From this year onwards, the company plans to share the annual free cash flow performance every year to clarify the amount of remaining resources, and to actively review the payment of some of them to shareholders early in the event of a meaningful amount of remaining resources.
Accordingly, the total amount of dividends to be paid to shareholders in March this year based on 2020 results is KRW 10.7 trillion. It is a one-time special dividend at 1578 won per share.
Samsung Electronics explained that this special dividend is in accordance with the promise to give back additional funds in case of remaining financial resources excluding regular dividends of 28.9 trillion won from the free cash flow for the three years from 2018 to 2020.
Special dividends are scheduled to be paid in April after approval at the general shareholders’ meeting to shareholders of 1932 won per common share and 1933 won per preferred share in addition to regular dividends in the fourth quarter.
This special dividend policy of Samsung Electronics is a policy that has already been expected in the market, with the story of’financing the Samsung family’s inheritance tax’.
Accordingly, the stock price of Samsung Electronics rose sharply not only at the end of last year but also at the beginning of this year. I even took a circle. Yesterday, when the special dividend was announced, it ended with a drop of 1900 won to 83,700 won.
