ABU DHABI 20 March 2018: The 2017 cash dividends paid out by 62 companies listed on the Abu Dhabi and Dubai bourses amounted to Dh33.161 billion, according to the latest official figures disclosed .
The banking sector continued to have the lion’s share of cash distributions, after 13 out of 18 listed banks pad out around Dh18 billion in cash, accounting for 54.3 per cent of the total payout, said Wam.
Eight ADX-listed banks paid to the tune of Dh11.9 billion while five DFM-listed banks distributed dividends of around Dh6.1 billion to their shareholders.
The telecommunications sector came second with a total cash of Dh8.54 billion followed by the realty sector whose dividends hit Dh2.57 billion. The finance and investment sector paid out Dh1.55 billion, Dh781 million by the transport and logistics sector, Dh577 million by the insurance sector, Dh421 million by the building material sector, and Dh291 million by the contracts sector, with the rest of the payments claimed by the health, pharmaceuticals, and the consumables and hospitality sectors.