Ann: Guidance Update for 1H18, page-111

Anyway some are suggesting a zero dividend is a possibility, I would like to believe that because guidence looks like it's reaching the levels we saw in 2013 ( https://markets.theaustralian.com.au/shares/RFG/retail-food-group-limited) when dividends were at 10c / half .. I'd be happy to see it go to that ?!


Except that you can't just look at one element of the company's financials in isolation; you need to view it the context of the overall financial position of the company:

In 2013 RGF's Net Debt was $92m; today it is $240m.

So, same level of earnings, but indebtedness 2.6 times higher now.

Put another way, RFG's earnings were supporting debt levels less than 3 times higher; today RFG's net borrowings are 7.5 times higher than the company's earnings.

Big difference in circumstances.

I'd say that if the board declared a dividend now, it would be acting in a fiscally irresponsible manner. If I was a shareholder in this company, I'd be thinking that the repair of the balance sheet was a priority.