UOB ups annual dividend, proposes special dividend but fails to lift stock

Singapore

UNITED Overseas Bank on Wednesday proposed higher final dividends and also increased its core payout to 80 Singapore cents per annum as it posted a 16 per cent gain in Q4 earnings but it failed to stem the slide in the stock price.

The bank said it will pay a final dividend of 45 Singapore cents per ordinary share (35 cents in 2016), and a special dividend of 20 Singapore cents. Including the interim dividend of 35 Singapore cents that has been paid, the core dividend for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017, amounts to 80 Singapore cents per ordinary share, up 14 per cent over 2016. The scrip dividend scheme will be applied to the final and special dividends.