12.60% Final Dividend: Govt-Backed Fertilizers Stock Recommends Dividend, Fixes Record Date

Government-backed leading Urea fertiliser producer in India, National Fertilizers has recommended a final dividend on Tuesday for the financial year FY23. Dividends were declared while delivering June 2023 quarterly earnings. The share price witnessed a sharp selling pressure following Q1 results.

As per the regulatory filing, the company recommended a Final Dividend of Rs 1.26 per equity share having a face value of Rs 10 each on the paid-up equity share capital of the company for fiscal year FY23. In percentage terms, the dividend payout will be 12.60%.

However, the dividend is subject to the approval of the shareholders at the ensuing 49th Annual General Meeting of the company.

Nevertheless, the company has fixed September 22, 2023, as the record date for determining eligible shareholders for dividend payout. In case of payment date, the company said, "The Final Dividend shall be paid on or before 28th October 2023, if approved by the Shareholders at ensuing AGM."

Notably, this dividend is in addition to the interim dividend of Rs 1.53 per share (15.30%) that was declared in May 2023, and already paid to shareholders.

In the June 2023 quarter, the company posted a net loss of Rs 121.43 crore, on a consolidated basis, compared to a profit of Rs 125.46 crore in Q1FY23. However, the loss narrowed compared to a loss of Rs 235.95 crore in the March quarter.

Meanwhile, revenue from operations stood at Rs 5,051.23 crore in Q1FY24, declining from Rs 6,454.65 crore in Q1FY23 and Rs 6,267.84 crore in Q4FY23. On segment-wise performance, the company's revenue in own fertilizers stood at Rs 3,059.12 crore in Q1FY24, fertilizer trading revenue was at Rs 1,817.60 cror, while other products and services revenue came in at Rs 200.23 crore.

On BSE, the company's stock ended at Rs 66.70 apiece, tumbling by 4.8%. The stock was near its day's low of Rs 66.50 apiece.

At the current market price, the company has a dividend yield of 2.29%.

The company will hold its annual general meeting (AGM) on September 29, 2023.

Year-to-date, the company's stock price has dipped by 11.2%, however, its half-yearly gains are over 16%. In a year, the stock jumped by over 34% and 5-year upside is nearly 48% on BSE.

Backed by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, National Fertilizers was incorporated in 1974 and has emerged as the second-largest producer of the key fertiliser urea in India.

As per Trendlyne data, National Fertilizers stock price's 50-Day SMA is Rs 70.7, while the 100-Day SMA and 200-Day SMA is Rs 73 and Rs 67.3 per share respectively. Its beta 1-year is 1.05, which means average volatility in the stock.