With Europe entering its annual corporate dividend season, analysis of country-by-country dividend yields of the S&P Europe 350 Index places S&P/MIB companies well above their European listed counterparts. The S&P/MIB boasts the highest dividend rate, registering a 3.649% pay-out. That is just ahead of UK-listed securities in the S&P Europe 350 which pay-out 3.511%, but well above French or German index companies, respectively paying 3.099% and 2.223% to shareholders.
The S&P/MIB is only one of three European markets to regularly log dividend yields of 3% or above over the past 2 years. Yet, S&P/MIB Index companies also register the fastest growth in dividend yield, having increased their collective payout rate by a strong 37% since February 2004 (3.649% in February 2006 compared to 2.668% in February 2004). The aggregate dividend yield of the S&P Europe 350 Index itself hovers at 3.0383%, which positions S&P/MIB companies as strong drivers of European shareholder income.
| Top 10 Countries | Gross Dividend Yield | |
| 1 | S&P/MIB ( |
3.649 |
| 2 | UK | 3.511 |
| 3 | Spain | 3.369 |
| 4 | Portugal | 3.349 |
| 5 | France | 3.099 |
| 6 | Sweden | 2.923 |
| 7 | Finland | 2.690 |
| 8 | Germany | 2.223 |
| 9 | Switzerland | 1.800 |
| 10 | Austria | 0.823 |
| Source: Standard & Poor’d as at 28/2/2006 | ||
“The higher pay-out rate of the S&P/MIB index simply reflects the good balance of blue chip securities which list and trade in Italy,” according to Eudald Canadell, Managing Director of Index Services at Standard & Poor’s. “Companies such as ENI, ENEL or Unicredito Italiano are representative of the S&P/MIB Index’s composition and in the soft spot of dividend paying sectors, notably Energy, Utilities and Financials. Investment portfolios across the Continent are clearly tilting in favor of dividend paying stocks as a necessary complement to stock price appreciation, and S&P/MIB-indexed investments happen to offer a distinct income advantage.”
Standard & Poor’s is the first index provider to make these broad financial ratios publicly and regularly available. Monthly index-level fundamentals are published by Standard & Poor’s on all domestic markets included in the S&P Europe 350 Index as well as the S&P/MIB. Eight country-by-country financial ratios are available upon request, including:
- Dividend yield
- Price to sales
- Price to book
- Price to cash flow
- Return on Equity
- P/E last reported EPS (Earnings Per Share)
- P/E 1-year forward EPS
- P/E 2-year forward EPS
Jointly launched in June 2003 by Standard & Poor's and Borsa Italiana (BIt), the S&P/MIB Index is the headline index for Italian equities. Including 40 of Italy’s largest and most liquid blue chip securities, the S&P/MIB Index was designed to faithfully measure Italy’s capital markets and to serve as the basis for OTC equity swaps, options, warrants, certificates and indexed funds. S&P/MIB futures & options and ETFs trade on the IDEM and MTF Segments of BIt and are among the most liquid equity derivatives in Europe. In September 2004, the S&P/MIB replaced the legacy MIB 30 as Italy’s primary market indicator.
