Samsung Display will pay out over 5 trillion won to its largest shareholder, Samsung Electronics. This marks the first dividend since its inception in 2012.
According to industry sources and the electronic disclosure system, on March 21, Samsung Display held its regular shareholders’ meeting on March 19 and resolved to pay dividends totaling 6.65 trillion won (US$4.97 billion).
Samsung Display shareholders consist of Samsung Electronics with an 84.8 percent stake and Samsung SDI with a 15.2 percent stake. Accordingly, dividend payments based on their stakes amount to 5.64 trillion won for Samsung Electronics and 1.01 trillion won for Samsung SDI.
Samsung Display’s retained earnings, which serve as the source of dividends, stand at 43.96 trillion won as of the end of the year. After distributing dividends, the retained earnings carried over to the next period amount to 36.65 trillion won.
Samsung Electronics appears to be investing dividends into capital expenditures. This is because it has consistently demonstrated a commitment to maintaining investment levels despite economic downturns.
As Kyung Kye-hyun, president of Samsung Electronics, suggests, the company is on a trend of continually expanding its investment scale. Last year, it executed the second-highest capital expenditure in its history, totaling 53.11 trillion won, and also spent a record high of 28.35 trillion won on research and development. Considering the operating loss of 14.8 trillion won in the device solution division, which leads Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business, this level of investment is exceptional.