Europe 1 with AFP 7:12 a.m., March 13, 2024
Dividends paid by large French companies rose to a record level in 2023, following the global trend, according to a study published Wednesday.
The sums returned to their shareholders by the 40 French companies listed reached 68.7 billion in 2023, according to the annual study by asset manager Janus Henderson.
Dividends paid by large French companies rose to a record level in 2023, following the global trend, according to a study published Wednesday.
Expressed in dollars, to facilitate global comparisons, the sums paid to their shareholders by the 40 French companies listed reached 68.7 billion in 2023, according to the annual study by asset manager Janus Henderson.
This is the equivalent of 63.2 billion euros.
France, like 21 other countries such as the United States, Germany, Italy and Denmark, is at a record in terms of dividends paid.
This is an increase of 8.70% over one year, and 31% compared to 2017, where 47 French companies were included.
France remains largely the leading country in the European Union, but remains behind the United Kingdom.
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Large French companies pay 44.3 billion euros to their shareholders
No French company in the top 20
CAC 40 companies, some of which like ArcelorMittal or Stellantis are not counted as French for Janus Henderson, generated around 145 billion euros in net profit in 2023, a figure slightly higher than 2022, but significantly more than the 95 billion euros in 2017. In 2023, "97% of them have increased or maintained their dividends, which is significantly higher than the European and global average", underlines Charles-Henri Herrmann, director of development France at Janus Henderson.
In detail, the most important contribution to dividend growth is for Engie "which pays its largest dividend in ten years and represents a quarter of the increase in France".
L'Oréal, Hermès, Safran and Vinci are other companies that have significantly increased their dividends.
No French company appears in the top 20 highest dividend paying companies in the world, with TotalEnergies having been demoted from its 14th place in 2022.
Payments which should further increase
Globally, the 1,200 companies listed in the study distributed more than $1,655 billion in dividends, up 5.6% year-on-year.
For 2024, the asset manager forecasts that growth will continue, with payouts increasing by 3.9%.
Dividends aren't the only way companies pamper their shareholders.
There are also share buybacks, which continue to gain popularity in Europe.
CAC 40 companies in 2022 returned 30.1 billion euros to their shareholders in the form of share buybacks and 67.1 billion euros in the form of cash dividends, according to the Vernimmen.net financial letter.