India Inc pays record dividends in FY26, but payout ratio slides
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For a sample of 187 companies from the BSE 200 index that have reported audited results so far, aggregate dividends touched ₹4.5 lakh crore, implying a 15% five-year annual growth rate. The sample's aggregate dividend increased two-fold in FY26 from ₹2.2 lakh crore in FY21. The share of the banking and finance sector expanded significantly from 15% in FY22, reflecting the rising profits of the sector helped by improving asset quality, reducing credit costs and expanding loan assets. On a year-on-year basis, dividends grew by 5.9% compared with double-digit growth in the previous four years. Read more: Corporate actions this week: NTPC, Coal India among nearly 90 cos set to hit record dates for dividend payouts, bonus issues & stock splits It was slower than the sample's net profit growth of 21%, implying a lower dividend payout. The pay-out ratio or dividends relative to net profit fell to 27% in FY26 from 31% in the previous year. The IT sector continued to report the highest payout ratio of 75% for the second straight year, though it fell from 81% in the previous year. The FMCG sector followed, increasing its payout to 71% from 68% a year ago. (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price
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