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The companies listed on the Spanish stock exchange paid out €11.19 billion in dividends in the first three months of the year, double the amount paid in 2008 and a quarterly record high, according to statistics published by the Economic and Financial Studies Department of Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME).
This historical figure is in large part the outcome of the €6.24 extraordinary dividend paid out by Endesa, equivalent to €5.89 per share. However, had the effect of Endesa's dividend payment been excluded, the increase would have been of 1.55%, still a quarterly record high.
Despite the fact that corporate earnings reflected in 2008 the complexity of the financial crisis by dropping by 25% on average, in terms of shareholder remuneration Spanish listed companies are showing good figures.
The combination of sustained levels of dividend payments in aggregate terms and the slump in stock prices has taken the dividend yield to very high levels, making it one of the main attributes of Spanish equities.
POSITIVE NET BALANCE OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Foreign investment statistics have taken a new dimension against the backdrop of the difficult conditions that have surrounded stock markets over the last few months. Non-resident investors continue favouring Spanish equities as reflected by the fact that foreign investment in Spanish equities yielded a positive net balance in 2008 for the second consecutive time. Share purchases by non-resident investors exceeded sales by €3.75 billion.
Since the beginning of the financial crisis, in mid-2007, monthly net balances have been positive up to February 2008. Between July 2007 and December 2008 these balances were positive in 14 out of the 18 months of the period. In the year 2007 the balance was €7.90 billion and in 2008 it came in at €3.75 billion.
In 2008 non-resident investors accounted for 65.5% of the total trading volume registered on the Spanish stock exchange. Over the last two years this percentage has increased by 8 basis points.
Further statistical information on this or other data about trends in Spanish stock markets for the first quarter of 2009 is available in the online "BOLSA" magazine on BME's website:
http://www.bolsasymercados.es/esp/publicacion/revistaOnLine/index.htm
