We Wouldn't Be Too Quick To Buy Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD (BUL:TIB) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend

It looks like Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD (BUL:TIB) is about to go ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date generally occurs two days before the record date, which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Thus, you can purchase Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD's shares before the 5th of January in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 1st of January.

The company's next dividend payment will be лв0.25 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed лв0.98 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD has a trailing yield of approximately 5.0% on its current stock price of лв19.70. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! So we need to investigate whether Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

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Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. It paid out 76% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. We'd be worried about the risk of a drop in earnings. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Over the past year it paid out 160% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is uncomfortably high. It's hard to consistently pay out more cash than you generate without either borrowing or using company cash, so we'd wonder how the company justifies this payout level.

Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD does have a large net cash position on the balance sheet, which could fund large dividends for a time, if the company so chose. Still, smart investors know that it is better to assess dividends relative to the cash and profit generated by the business. Paying dividends out of cash on the balance sheet is not long-term sustainable.

While Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, cash is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Were this to happen repeatedly, this would be a risk to Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD's ability to maintain its dividend.

See our latest analysis for Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD

Click here to see how much of its profit Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 13% a year over the previous five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD has delivered an average of 5.8% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past four years of dividend payments. Growing the dividend payout ratio while earnings are declining can deliver nice returns for a while, but it's always worth checking for when the company can't increase the payout ratio any more - because then the music stops.

Final Takeaway

Should investors buy Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD for the upcoming dividend? It's definitely not great to see earnings per share shrinking. The company paid out an acceptable percentage of its income, but an uncomfortably high percentage of its cash flow over the past year. It's not an attractive combination from a dividend perspective, and we're inclined to pass on this one for the time being.

Having said that, if you're looking at this stock without much concern for the dividend, you should still be familiar of the risks involved with Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Telematic Interactive Bulgaria EAD (of which 2 make us uncomfortable!) you should know about.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.