Big C&W dividend payout

SHAREHOLDERS in Cable & Wireless (C&W) Barbados are in for a hefty dividend following a decision by C&W directors here to declare a final dividend of 14.5 cents and a special dividend of 15.2 cents per share to be paid on July 15.The dividend will be for shareholders on record at the close of business on June 25.Commenting on the development, president of the Barbados Association of Corporate Shareholders Douglas Skeete said the major beneficiary of the big cash payout will be C&W’s parent company in Britain.“The reason is that the C&W parent company still owns the majority of shares and right now it is cash-strapped. Only about 15 per cent of its shareholding is held by local shareholders; all the rest are owned by the holding company located in the Cayman Islands.“Barbadian shareholders need not nod and feel good because the primary shareholders are in the UK,” he noted.Skeete told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY that C&W Barbados enjoyed one of the highest returns on equity among locally listed companies.“Their return on equity is close to 34 per cent . . . which means that every 3.3 years, for every dollar they invest, they recover that dollar [they] invested,” he added.  (GE)