OPAP tops dividend yield list for 2009
Betting company OPAP tops the list of expected dividend yields to be distributed for 2009, followed by refinery Motor Oil and retailer Hellenic Duty Free (KAE) stores. Figures provided by FactSet, a provider of financial information, published on website euro2day.gr, showed that state-controlled OPAP is expected to give its shareholders a dividend of 1.97 euros per share for 2009, translating into a yield of 13.04 percent, based on December 25 stock prices. Next on the list of 39 companies prepared by FactSet comes Motor Oil which is tipped to pay a 0.89-euro-per-share dividend from last year’s earnings, offering investors an annual return of 8.68 percent. In third place comes KAE, majority-owned by Folli Follie head Dimitris Koutsolioutsos, seen paying a 0.50-euro-per-share dividend, a return of 8.33 percent. The list does not include Greek banks, which are unable to pay out dividends for 2009 as a condition for accepting financial support from the government offered to lenders at the end of 2008. Aggregate figures for the top 15 companies on FactSet’s list, which excludes banks, investment companies and preference stocks, show the average dividend yield for 2009 falling 6 percent from the previous year. The three shares topping the dividend yield list gave investors mixed results for 2009 in terms of capital gains. OPAP shares fell 25.8 percent versus a 22.9 percent rise in the broader market. Motor Oil and KAE shares rose 39.2 percent and 6.62 percent respectively.
