This file photo taken Oct. 6, 2020, shows Naver Corp.’s headquarters in Seongnam, south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean technology giant Naver Corp. posted a sharp increase in net profits and marked an increase in the total amount of shareholder dividends last year, but its dividend propensity plunged to near all-time low.
The company paid cash dividends of 76.3 billion won (US$62.5 million) in 2021, up 17 billion won from a year earlier, according to industry sources.
However, its propensity to pay dividends stood at 0.5 percent last year, the lowest since it began to pay shareholder dividends in 2011.
This figure is equivalent to one twelfth of the 5.9 percent recorded in 2020.
This is because the growth in shareholder dividends was not significant despite its 2021 consolidated net profits registering a 16.5 fold increase to 16.5 trillion won.
This is in contrast to rival Kakao Corp., whose propensity to pay dividends almost doubled to 16.5 percent last year from 8.3 percent in 2020.
In online communities, some Naver shareholders are voicing complaints over the plunge in Naver’s propensity to pay dividends.
Naver noted that its net profits surged last year mainly due to the accounting profit created by the management integration between its affiliate LINE, a Japanese chat app operator, and Softbank Corp.’s internet business Yahoo Japan.
Given that the accounting profit was not accompanied by cash movements, the surge in net profits cannot be interpreted as a sharp increase in room for dividends, the company said.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
