The firms listed on the main bourse paid out more dividends for fiscal 2013 than a year earlier, although their net income sank more than 17 percent, data showed Monday.
The combined amount of dividends paid out by 440 firms listed on the main stock market is estimated at 11.6 trillion won ($11.14 billion) for fiscal 2013, compared to 11.5 trillion won tallied in 2012, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX). The firms close their books on Dec. 31.
The combined net profit of these firms dropped 17.5 percent on-year to 55.1 trillion won last year, the data showed.
The increase in dividend payouts was led by market heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics.
By company, Samsung Electronics, the country's top market cap, doled out the largest amount of 2.16 trillion won in dividends for fiscal 2013, trailed by top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. with 666 billion won, the data added.
The country's No. 1 steelmaker POSCO paid 633 billion won in dividends, followed by top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. with 534 billion won, according to the KRX.
Listed firms delivered a total of 4.36 trillion won in dividends to foreign investors for fiscal 2013, up 5.57 percent from a year earlier. The figure accounted for 37.49 percent of the total dividends paid out to shareholders, up 1.44 percentage points from a year earlier, the data showed. (Yonhap)