Sagicor cuts dividends

Both Sagicor Life and Sagicor Investments have cut dividends from the amounts paid in 2012.

Sagicor Life | The Board of Directors of Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited declared a dividend of 21 cents per share payable on October 31, 2013 to shareholders on record as at October 16, 2013. The ex-dividend date is October 14, 2013. This latest dividend brings the total for 2013 to 40 cents per share as a dividend of 19 cents per share was paid on March 28, 2013.

In 2012 the company paid two dividends of 28 cents each for a total of 52 cents per share.

The decline in dividend payout comes against the back drop of losses picked up from the government bond exchange (NDX) earlier this year, which resulted in realized capital losses of $1.2 billion and a 16 percent drop in net profit attributable to stockholders for the six months to June of $2.18 billion versus $2.60 billion in 2012.

Sagicor Investments | Sagicor Investments Jamaica declared an interim dividend in the amount of 12 cents per stock unit payable on October 31, 2013 to stockholders on record as at October 17, 2013 with an ex-dividend date of October 15, 2013. The company paid an interim dividend in the amount of 48 cents per stock unit on March 27, 2013.

In 2012 the company paid a dividend of 57 cents per stock unit on October 29, 2012 to stockholders and 74.3 cents per stock unit on April 27, 2012. The 2013 dividend is a 50% decrease from the prior year.

Sagicor Jamaica is an IC Insider Buy Rated Stock