Dividends

A list of my past dividend income and updates can be found below:

• Dividend Income Update 2016
• Dividend Income Update 2015
• Dividend Income Update 2014
• Where it all started – April 2014

December

The Freedom Fund has been updated as of 31 December 2017. The full list of dividend yields from my shareholdings can be viewed there.

The last month of 2017 gave me RM1,304.48 in dividends. Compared to December of 2016 – RM1,037.75. A 25.7% increase thanks to newcomers TENAGA and SCICOM.

Scicom (MSC) Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM168

Total 2017 Dividends – RM756

Dividend Yield – 4.33%

Nestle Malaysia Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM140

Total 2017 Dividends – RM540

Dividend Yield – 4.04%

AXIS REIT

This Month’s Dividends – RM556.48

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,619.51

Dividend Yield – 4.72%

Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB)

This Month’s Dividends – RM440

Total 2017 Dividends – RM440

Dividend Yield – 3.12%

Purchases

I’ve added 2800 more shares of Scicom Berhad at RM1.73 each.

End.

The total sum of dividends received for 2017 was a grand RM15,905.71. Comparatively, I received RM11,429.55 for 2016.

A 39.2% increase in dividends.

My dividend yields have increased over the years as well – from 2.85% in 2015, 3.84% in 2016 and now, 4.69% in 2017. This is what dividend investing is all about.

I’m more than happy with a yield higher than that of our current FD rates. The goal will be to try and maintain this yield come 2018 and in the long term see it cross the 5% AND 6% mark.

I’ll have a Review of 2017 post up in the coming week(s).

As always, thank you for reading and have a great 2018!

November

For November, I received a total of RM1,438.87 in dividends.

Compared to November in 2016, that’s a 162.8% increase where I received RM547.48 in dividends.

The main contributor? Maybank and AEON Credit.

Malayan Banking Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM747.96

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,761.72

Dividend Yield – 6.64% (that sweet yield)

Weight – 7.43% of the Freedom Fund

AEON Credit Service (M) Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM359.21

Total 2017 Dividends – RM359.21

Dividend Yield – 1.59% (Purchased in November)

Weight – 5.21% of the Freedom Fund

Sunway REIT

This Month’s Dividends – RM331.70

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,204.55

Dividend Yield – 6.07%

Weight – 5.62% of the Freedom Fund

End.

Total dividends up to the month of November is RM14,601.23

The goal for 2017 is RM15,000 in dividends. It looks like we’ll barely make it this year! I’m expecting about RM500 in dividend income for December, a little lower than last year due to my disposal of major shares – BONIA and TAANN.

The dividend yield of my portfolio is currently at 4.39%.

To everyone that was asking for the November updates via PMs/comments, I’m really sorry as I’ve been busy as hell this month. Year-end updates coming soon!

As always, thank you for reading!

October

I apologize for the delayed post this time around. I realize I’m about 2 weeks late.

I received a total of RM1,454.52 in dividends for October.

That’s an 81.8% increase compared to the same month last year where I received RM800 in dividends. The difference? AirAsia!

Even with Maybank’s dividends coming in November this year instead of October, AirAsia more than made up for it with RM1,200 in dividends alone.

AirAsia Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM1,200

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,980

Dividend Yield – 6.73% (look at that sweet yield)

Weight – 8.22% of the Freedom Fund

Sunway Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM254.52

Total 2017 Dividends – RM522.72

Dividend Yield – 4.59%

Weight – 3.69% of the Freedom Fund

End.

Total dividends up to the month of October is RM13,162.36.

Would I say we’re on track to reach 2017’s goal of RM15,000 in dividends? It’ll be close I think. But YES! Thanks to October’s outstanding performance.

The dividend yield of my portfolio is currently at 4.19%. Really glad to have surpassed that 4% yield mark, and we’re only in October.

Bask in the glory of that 4% yield!! This 4.19% is only the passive returns alone from my portfolio.

Since I’ve reduced my gross investment in the fund to only about RM25,000 this year, we should see significant growth in dividend yield moving forward.

As always, thank you for reading!

September

I received a total of RM1,136.30 in dividend income for the month of September.

That’s a 3.1% decrease compared to the same month last year where I received RM1,172.15 in dividends.

The decrease was mainly due to a few companies giving out their dividends earlier which I placed into the August group.

September 2017’s dividend income was made up of a total of 6 different companies – Sunway REIT, Nestle, Scicom, IGB Corp, Sunway Construction and Homeritz.

Sunway REIT

This Month’s Dividends – RM289

Total 2017 Dividends – RM872.85

Dividend Yield – 4.40%

Weight – 5.59% of the Freedom Fund

Nestle Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM140

Total 2017 Dividends – RM400

Dividend Yield – 2.99%

Weight – 3.94% of the Freedom Fund

Scicom Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM252

Total 2017 Dividends – RM588

Dividend Yield – 3.37%

Weight – 4.54% of the Freedom Fund

IGB Corp

This Month’s Dividends – RM200

Total 2017 Dividends – RM200

Dividend Yield – 1.74%

Weight – 2.65% of the Freedom Fund

Sunway Construction

This Month’s Dividends – RM10.80

Total 2017 Dividends – RM19.80

Dividend Yield – 3.37%

Weight – 0.17% of the Freedom Fund

Homeritz Corporation

This Month’s Dividends – RM244.50

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,222.50

Dividend Yield – 8.65%

Weight – 5.42% of the Freedom Fund

End.

The Freedom Fund’s dividend income has a cumulative total of RM11,707.84 as of September 2017.

We’ve officially surpassed last year’s total dividends of  RM11,429.55. Based on historical dividend income, we should be getting at least another RM2.3K in dividends for the 4th Quarter of 2017.

The dividend yield of my portfolio is currently at 3.53%. The Freedom Fund will be updated in the coming weeks as Q3 has come to a close, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading.

August

The 8th month of 2017 fetched me a total of RM1,880.64 in dividends. A pretty good month I’d say.

That’s a 23.8% increase compared to the same month last year, which gave me RM1,518.99.

The total is made up of the following:

CBIP

This Month’s Dividends – RM420

Total 2017 Dividends – RM840

Dividend Yield – 3.77%

Weight – 6.61% of the Freedom Fund

Public Bank Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM162

Total 2017 Dividends – RM354

Dividend Yield – 3.19%

Weight – 2.86% of the Freedom Fund

IGB REIT

This Month’s Dividends – RM900.60

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,785.70

Dividend Yield – 5.96%

Weight – 9.37% of the Freedom Fund

Axis REIT

This Month’s Dividends – RM398.04

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,063.03

Dividend Yield – 4.40%

Weight – 7.74% of the Freedom Fund

Recent Acquisitions

August has been a relatively uninteresting month for me without any buys / sells.

My recent acquisitions back in July are already looking strong though. TNB is already up by 3% for me.

Aeon Credit has rebounded to RM12.84 per share. Things are looking good.

The next buying opportunity should come election time.

Is everyone’s’ cash / warchest at the ready?

End.

Total dividends for the year stands at RM10,574.54. My Freedom Fund currently has a dividend yield of 3.19%.

It’s a tall order but I’ll hopefully see my portfolio pass the 4% dividend yield mark this year.

The Freedom Fund itself is doing great, it’ll be updated come the end of September (Q3).

As of right now, capital gain wise, I’m up almost 30% and the fund has for the first time passed the RM100K profit mark!

July

After the high of June’s dividends, RM552 in dividends for the month of July was lower in comparison. Same time last year, I received RM420 in dividends. A pretty decent 31.4% increase y-o-y.

Average Dividend Increase (so far) – 37%

I’ve started tracking my dividends received closely and, although I may be jumping the gun here (as it isn’t even December yet).. BUT, as of now, my monthly dividends have been increasing every month! With the exception of March because good old CBIP Berhad paid a special dividend last year.

On average, my dividends have increased 37% in 2017. Goodbye inflation, goodbye Fixed Deposits. This is why I invest in shares and companies. My returns increase with time, while ‘investments’ like FDs will stay at the 3-4% levels for years, even decades.

Full disclosure, I did add RM2,500 and RM15,000 to my investments as additional capital in December 2016 and June 2017 respectively but that hardly impacted the 37% increase in dividends.

Also, I’m not implying FDs are useless, they have their uses but are essentially useless as investment instruments.

Moving on.

Scientex Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM552

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,312

Dividend Yield – 4.48%

Weight – 19.40% of the Freedom Fund

Recent Buys

Aeon Credit -1,000 units

Their dividends have been increasing every year for 5 years now. However, the price has dropped by 5% since my purchase.

Tenaga – 1,000 units

Good dividends, almost a monopoly on our country’s electricity. Moving into other countries.

Their close links to the Malaysian government are a double-edged sword.

IGB Corp – 4,000 units

Highly undervalued and overlooked because of the pending offer by Goldis Berhad.

Conclusion

Total dividends for the year stands at RM8,690.90. My Freedom Fund currently has a dividend yield of 2.69%.

Thank you for reading!

June

June is an important month for me, it marks the end of the first half of the year. It’s the time when I take a closer look at my finances and investments, to assess how my year has been so far and to plan for the 2nd half. Historically, June has also always been the most productive month for me every year in terms of dividends.  Barring any unforeseen special dividends, the 6th month of the year is set to retain that title this year. By a big margin.

I raked in RM3,750.74 in dividends for June from a total of eight different companies. Last month’s dividends totaled RM393.79, which as you can tell, is roughly only 10% of June’s dividends.

This is a huge milestone for me. For one, this is the first time my portfolio has crossed the RM3K per month threshold in dividends. Secondly, comparing to last year’s RM2,392.37 in dividends, that’s a 56.8% increase.

The figure for June 2016 was increased from RM1,852.37 (in the previous article) to RM2,392.37 here as I made a minor mistake in forgetting Tune Protect’s dividend of RM540 June last year.

Moving on, we’ll have a look at the companies that contributed to my RM3,750.74 in dividends. And then at my Freedom Fund’s performance.

Sunway REIT

This Month’s Dividends – RM296.48

Total 2017 Dividends – RM583.85

Dividend Yield – 2.94%

Weight – 6.25% of the Freedom Fund

Malayan Banking Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM1,013.76

Total 2017 Dividends – RM1,013.76

Dividend Yield – 3.82%

Weight – 7.83% of the Freedom Fund

Maybank’s DRP

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in Maybank’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan and opted to receive a portion of my dividends in shares instead of cash. This is the result of that. The total RM1,013.76 in dividends includes the share portion of my dividends.

Awesome Returns

Take a look at the dividend yield, that’s 3.82% yield for me – so far! This is only the first of two dividends to be paid out this year, the other being in October. I managed to purchase the bank’s shares when it was spiraling down back in 2016.

Nestle (M) Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM260

Total 2017 Dividends – RM260

Dividend Yield – 1.94%

Weight – 3.95% of the Freedom Fund

Tune Protect

This Month’s Dividends – RM561.60

Total 2017 Dividends – RM561.60

Dividend Yield – N/A (Sold)

Weight – N/A (Sold)

Homeritz Corporation Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM244.50

Total 2017 Dividends – RM978.00

Dividend Yield – 6.92%

Weight – 6.25% of the Freedom Fund

Scicom (MSC) Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM168

Total 2017 Dividends – RM336

Dividend Yield – 1.92%

Weight – 4.71% of the Freedom Fund

Cypark Resources Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM426.40

Total 2017 Dividends – RM426.40

Dividend Yield – 2.41%

Weight – 4.66% of the Freedom Fund

AirAsia Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM780

Total 2017 Dividends – RM780

Dividend Yield – 2.65%

Weight – 8.26% of the Freedom Fund

The Freedom Fund

The Freedom Fund‘s updated stats are as follows:

Gross Investment: RM295,114.52
Market Value: RM388,720.81
Dividends (2017): RM8,138.90
Cash Available: RM34,000
Capital Gain: 31.72%
IRR: 12.76%

I aim to have at least RM25,000 at all times at the ready to invest in the case of a market correction. Ideally, I’d like to have RM50,000 in in the saddle. Trying to keep myself disciplined and at the same time I’ve been keeping busy adding more stocks to my buy list.

End.

Concluding this post, total dividends for the year stands at RM8,138.90. The Freedom Fund’s dividend yield comes in at 2.76%.

Same time June last year, my total half-year dividends were only RM5,933.18. That’s a nice 37.18% increase in dividends for me y-o-y. Moving forward, I expect to break the RM10,000 in dividends mark in September.

My goal set earlier this year in my Review of 2016 was RM15,000 in dividends for 2017. It’ll be tight and achieving that goal would ultimately depend on increases in dividends from my holdings.

I’ve seen an increase in readers having started investing this year! Please do write in and let me know how you’re doing. Even if you’ve started small, don’t forget to keep track of your investments. Thank you for reading!

May

April’s dividends were only RM277.20. Low but there was an increase so no complaints there. In May last month, my dividend income totaled RM393.79. All of which were from Axis REIT.

Compared to May last year, I had nothing in dividend income. Axis’ dividends actually came in on 31 May and I decided to capture the figures in May hereafter.

Axis REIT

Last year, Axis REIT gave me a first interim dividend income of RM263.37. Last month, I received RM393.79. That’s a 49.5% increase in dividend income for me. Please note that I increased my holdings to 20,236 units earlier in February.

Axis’ dividend per unit (DPU) increased from 2.00 to 2.04 sen. They’ve been on a buying spree which is expected to end sometime this year. They’ve recently proposed a private placement at an issue price of RM1.58 to pare down their borrowings. This should see them being able to make further acquisitions should the opportunity arise.

Not too thrilled about the RM1.58 issue price but that’s the nature of private placements here.

Conclusion

Total dividends for the year stands at RM8,138.90. My Freedom Fund has a dividend yield of 2.52%.

I’m finally on Instagram! Follow me hERE or look for me on Instagram @dividendmagic

I’ll be away for the week on holiday. Will be updating on my Facebook as well as Instagram! See you guys there. 

April

Well lads, if you’ve been with me this time around last year, you’d know that April is usually a slow month for me. Dividends last month totaled RM277.20, compared to last year’s RM230.40. Don’t let the small amount fool you, that’s a 20.3% increase in dividends y-o-y. So far, we’ve been seeing big increases (more than 20%) in dividends every month except for March. A very positive and promising sign.

The RM277.20 last month was split between Sunway Berhad (RM268.20) and Sunway Construction Group (RM9.00).

Sunway Berhad

Sunway did something different this time around. They distributed a part of April’s dividends as cold hard cash. The remainder was distributed in the form of shares – 1 share for every 100 shares owned to be precise.

This is a new experience for me and a good one. Let me give a brief explanation why. Education time!

The dividends I received in the form of shares are called treasury shares, which are shares held by Sunway. Companies often repurchase their own shares via the market if they deem the share prices to be undervalued. Share buybacks are really good for shareholders like you and me because essentially, it increases our ownership in the company.

Acquisitions and Disposals

On 14 April, I made a decision to part with all 33,700 units of my BONIA shares. Including dividends received as well as fees, I made a loss of RM3,811.67 (-14.12%). Painful but it had to be done. BONIA had been hit by GST but looking at other retailers, it doesn’t look like the company has a good handle on the problem. I’ll, of course, be keeping an eye on them should their earnings show signs of improvement.

With BONIA disposed of,  I had about RM22,000 in reserves. Scientex took a tumble recently due to a private placement (priced at RM7.80 if my memory serves). At the time of the placement, Scientex’s shares were at an all-time high of more than RM9 per share. It has since dropped to around RM8.20 – RM8.30 today. I snapped up 1,600 shares at RM8.26 on 2 May 2017. My latest valuation of the company – even after stripping the company, it is still worth RM220 million easily.

Conclusion

Summing it all up – I brought home a total of RM277.20 in dividends (both in the form of shares and cash). Dividend yield for my Freedom Fund increased to 1.23% from 1.19% a month ago.

I should be attending AirAsia’s AGM later this month on the 25th. If any of you are going, drop me a message or comment, maybe we can carpool! Come back in a few days for my article on Nestle’s doorgift. Hint: It was a disaster.

March

The end of March also marks the conclusion of the first quarter for 2017. I’ve updated the Freedom Fund accordingly. My portfolio grew from RM345,955.92 back in December 2016 to RM381,021.54. That’s a gain of RM35,065.62 or 10.14% for me. However, do note that gross investment also grew from RM297,777.83 to RM312,929.52.

I did not inject any extra capital into the fund, the additional investments came from cash reserves. I do feel the need to apologize if my figures and tables are all over the place, I’m learning as I go and always finding better ways to record. Please bear with me. I’d also greatly appreciate any advice or help or criticism with my records, so please feel free.

Acquisitions and Disposals

Earlier in February, I added 6,000 units of Axis REIT shares priced at RM1.67 each, increasing the total quantity to 20,236 shares. I disposed off Eco World shares on 22 February 2017, netting a 9.22% (RM1,194.54) net gain.  In the same month, I purchased 6,500 AirAsia shares with an average price of RM2.7578 mainly due to this. So far, Axis REIT is down to RM1.65 per share, AirAsia has shot up to RM3.13 per share.

So! Moving on to the whole point of this site – Dividend Income.

As usual, we will be comparing the dividends received with March 2016’s where I received a total of RM880.69 in dividends. The same month this year, I received a total of RM455.37 in dividends, a 48% decline. A few factors contributed to this new figure.

First, last year, CBIP declared a special one-time RM560 dividend. Secondly, I added Scicom Berhad to my portfolio this time around. More on that later.

Sunway REIT

This Month’s Dividends – RM287.37

Total 2017 Dividends – RM287.37

Dividend Yield – 1.45%

Weight – 6.53% of the Freedom Fund

Same time last year, Sunway REIT declared a RM320.69 dividend. Compared to this year’s dividend of RM287.37, that’s a 10% decrease. I’d attribute this decline to their recent acquisition of new assets. Share price and investor sentiment has remained positive for the stock.

Scicom Berhad

This Month’s Dividends – RM168

Total 2017 Dividends – RM168

Dividend Yield – 0.96%

Weight – 4.91% of the Freedom Fund

I purchased shares in Scicom back in October 2016. They’re a digital solution provider for huge prominent corporations. To name a few (thank you reader CHC for providing these): Huawei, Lenovo, Pepsi, Tesco, BMW, Samsung, Astro, Airasia, Fonterra,  Singtel, Dunhill, McDonald’s, Petronas, Mandela, CTOS, Axiata, Toshiba, Digi and many, many more.

My only regret is that I didn’t purchase more of Scicom’s shares back when the price was low. As of today, the share price has reached RM2.37 and I’m up by 14% already. The dividends from Scicom are decent, I’ll probably expect a 3% yield as of now. Moving forward, I’m expecting great things from Scicom.

End.

To sum it all up, total dividends for the month is RM455.37. Currently, dividend yield stands at 1.19%. 

Looking at last year’s list, there will be even less dividends to collect in April and probably none in May.

IGB REIT’s AGM in April will be something I’m looking forward to. Also Nestle’s goody bag collection. Drop me a PM or comment and let me know if you guys are heading for those as well!

As always thank you for reading.

February

With the 48% increase in dividends for me last month, I was of course pretty stoked and looking forward to February’s dividends.

And guess what? The anticipation wasn’t unfounded. I received RM2,081.80 in dividends for February. Compared with the same month last year where I received RM1,635.72, that’s a 27% increase.

However, the more astute and observant readers will notice that this time, Public Bank’s dividends is included in February’s dividend income. So, excluding PBBANK’s dividends, our actual increase when comparing is only about 15%. I’m in no way downplaying 15%, believe me, 15% is Wunderbar!

Homeritz Corp Berhad

February 2017 Dividends – RM733.50

Total 2017 Dividends – RM733.50

Dividend Yield – 5.19%

Weight – 6.52% of the Freedom Fund

A flat 20% increase in dividends from my favorite furniture making company. Revenue from exports has shot up thanks in part to the weak ringgit.

Public Bank Berhad

February 2017 Dividends – RM192

Total 2017 Dividends – RM192

Dividend Yield – 1.73%

Weight – 3.36% of the Freedom Fund

No comparison here as I purchased PBBANK only in March last year. On track to receiving more than 3% in dividends this year though.

IGB REIT

February 2017 Dividends – RM885.10

Total 2017 Dividends – RM885.10

Dividend Yield – 2.95%

Weight – 10.26% of the Freedom Fund

IGB REIT’s February dividends rose by 15.5% compared to the same month last year. Prices are at an all-time high so I won’t be buying more of it for now. The retail REIT already makes up more than 10% of my total portfolio anyway.

Axis REIT

February 2017 Dividends – RM271.20

Total 2017 Dividends – RM271.20

Dividend Yield – 1.12%

Weight – 9.05% of the Freedom Fund

An increase of almost 5% in dividend yield from the industrial-focused REIT.  I’m expecting good things from AXIS in the coming years. The price right now is within range for me to add more units.

End.

To sum it all up, total dividends for the month is RM2,081.80. Currently, dividend yield stands at 1.04%.

Looking forward to March and then the dividends will start to slow down for a bit.

How’d everyone do for the 2nd month of 2017? Did your dividends keep up with inflation? 

January

My Freedom Fund is off to an amazing start for the year 2017. The first month of the year of the rooster netted me RM1,180 in dividends from Scientex and CBIP. Compared to the same month last year where I received RM794 in dividends. That’s a whooping 48% increase in dividends for me. I did not increase my stake in either companies, the increase was from sound business conducted by them.

Scientex Berhad

January 2017 Dividends – RM760

Total 2017 Dividends – RM760

Dividend Yield – 3.41%

Weight – 14.68% of the Freedom Fund

As most of you regulars would know, Scientex has been one of the top performing company in my portfolio. I’m always on the lookout to add more of their shares but the price is never right. Maybe a big market crash is the only time I’ll ever get to buy more Scientex.

Back in January 2016, Scientex gave me RM494 in dividends. Fast forward a year to January 2017, they are now churning out RM760 in dividends for me. If you’ve not caught on by now, that’s a 53% increase. I’ve had Scientex in my portfolio since 2014 and the dividends have been increasing ever since. If you’re looking for a fundamentally sound business, keep an eye out for a buy opportunity here with Scientex.

RM760 in dividends translates to a 3.41%. Already at 3.41% and we have another round of dividends to look forward to later in August.

CBIP Berhad

January 2017 Dividends – RM420

Total 2017 Dividends – RM420

Dividend Yield – 1.88%

Weight – 7.84% of the Freedom Fund

As usual, the dividend voucher from CBIP has yet to arrive (same occurrence last year).

The company’s dividends back in January 2016 stood at RM300. The increase to RM420 this year represents a 40% growth. Apart from Scientex, CBIP has been performing wonderfully for me. I expect good things from the company and looking forward to another round of dividends later in July.

End.

Total dividends for the month is RM1,180. Currently, dividend yield stands at 0.38%. It’s only the first month of the year but it’s looking good.

How was the first month of 2017 for most of you? I’d love to hear from you guys on how your investments did in January.