dividend outlook, page-2

There will be many who prefer to keep the dividend intact. However, conservative is good, imo. Better to have cash on hand if required. Like you say, 10% is still a great yield. If they shell out too much cash now then some investors may just take the money & run (as the balance sheet is weakened). I'd rather own part of a long term viable company than one that potentially needs to borrow more money (or issue more shares) down the track. It's a fine balance. If they can expand out of cashflow & return money to shareholders, without increasing debt load, then they'll bounce hard when the cycle turns back in their favour.