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Less than 9pc of ASX small caps paid dividends – but these 13 paid 10 cents or more
Experts
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Dividends are a rare thing among small cap stocks. Stockhead analysis has found less than 9 per cent of ASX companies with a market cap below $500 million have paid half yearly dividends.
But 152 companies have and 13 of them have paid half-yearly dividends of 13 cents or more this year.
The highest paying stock was property developer Tamawood (ASX: TWD) which will pay a total of 33 cents per share. Tamawood’s ordinary dividend was 27 cents but it decided to pay another 6 cents in light of the prospect of dividend franking laws changing after the upcoming election.
This is not just speculation; the company mentioned it to shareholders and paid dividends despite first half results which the company admitted were poor. The yield is an impressive 9 per cent.
The second highest company is leather and building material manufacturer Schaffer Corporation (ASX: SFC). Despite being the most expensive small cap stock on the ASX, with a $13.17 share price, its market cap is only $182 million. While it paid a dividend of 30 cents per share, double the prior corresponding period, the yield was only 2 per cent.
You’ve probably heard of the next stock, furniture retailer Nick Scali (ASX: NCI).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqkEQwlOfPw
After achieving a $25 million profit after tax, it has shared the spoils, paying 25 cents per share (a 4 per cent yield).
Among the other notable stocks on this list are 1300 Smiles (ASX: ONT), which paid 12.5 cents per share, and The Reject Shop (ASX: TRS), which paid 10 cents per share.
There was only one mining stock on the list, Talisman Mining (ASX: TLM), and even then it was not a regular dividend. Rather it was a special dividend – a capital return after divesting one of its projects. Hence its unusual looking yield of 170 per cent.
Here are the highest dividend paying ASX small caps
| Code | Company | Dividend per share | Date Paid | Share Price (1pm April 18) | Yield | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWD | Tamawood | 0.33 | 15-March | $3.57 | 9.2% | $91.8M |
| SFC | Schaffer Corp | 0.30 | 18-April | $13.17 | 2.3% | $182.1M |
| NCK | Nick Scali | 0.25 | 27-March | $6.22 | 4.0% | $499.0M |
| EMB | Embelton | 0.20 | 5-April | $12.05 | 1.7% | $26.0M |
| ABA | Auswide Bank | 0.16 | 25-March | $4.94 | 3.2% | $207.1M |
| TLM | Talisman Mining | 0.156 | 8-March | $0.091 | 170%^ | $16.3M |
| LYL | Lycopodium | 0.15 | 12-April | $4.59 | 3.2% | $189.9M |
| AKG | Academies Australasia | 0.13 | 28-February | $0.40 | 32.5% | $50.4M |
| ONT | 1300 Smiles | 0.125 | 27-March | $6.20 | 2.0% | $145.6M |
| VRT | Virtus Health | 0.125 | 18-April | $3.94 | 2.0% | $317.5M |
| WLL | Wellcom Group | 0.11 | 15-March | $5.00 | 2.2% | $196.2M |
| TRS | The Reject Shop | 0.10 | 8-April | $2.35 | 4.3% | $69.7M |
| FFI | FFI Holdings | 0.10 | 29-March | $4.20 | 2.3% | $45.0M |
What about the rest?
Among all ASX small caps that paid shares, the average dividend was 4.1 cents and most of the stocks were consumer goods or finance. Only seven stocks were mining, including New Talisman.
The remainder were Universal Coal (ASX: UNV); CI Resources (ASX: CII); Grange Resources (ASX: GRR) and Pacific Energy (ASX: PEA), Viva Energy (ASX: VEA), and Mineral Commodities (ASX: MRC).
Among the ones that caught our eye were Xenith IP (ASX: XIP) which will be acquired by IPH (ASX: IPH). Last month Xenith’s shareholders were paid 3.25 cents per share but they will soon receive the full value of their shares once Xenith is acquired.
While QANTM missed out on Xenith, its shareholders got a dividend of 3.5 cents each.
The two airline small caps, Regional Express (ASX: REX) and Alliance Aviation (ASX: AQZ), paid dividends of 6.8 cents and 4 cents respectively.
Despite a horror Christmas shopping season, plenty of retailers paid dividends including Adairs (ASX: ADH), Kogan (ASX: KGN), Baby Bunting (ASX: BBN), Michael Hill (ASX: MHJ) and the Shaver Shop (ASX: SSG) although none could match Nick Scali.
Mortgage brokers Genworth (ASX: GMA) and Mortgage Choice (ASX: MOC) paid dividends as well. Although we think their shareholders will even happier that the industry’s future is secure – considering how they panicked earlier in the year in the aftermath of the Royal Commission.
Finally, we noted the Brisbane Broncos (ASX: BBL) paid 1 cent per share. Although shareholders might be pleased, we know other stakeholders… not so much.
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