A tsunami of 4.8 trillion rubles in dividends will hit investors

It is anticipated that Russian companies will pay out 4.8 trillion rubles in dividends next year, according to Gazprombank.

The coming year's most promising dividend stocks have been identified by Alfa Bank.

Brokers have started making plans for the equitable taxation of dividends.

In the draft budget, the Ministry of Finance proposed that Sberbank pay out 50% of its profits as dividends.

Gazprombank predicts that the total volume of dividends Russian companies will pay next year will be 4.8 trillion rubles, an increase of more than 80%.

The bank's review states that this is mainly due to the appreciation of exporters' profits, combined with the devaluation of the ruble and the resumption of payments by metallurgists.

It is anticipated by Gazprombank that dividend payments will give a considerable boost to the stock market, as the majority of these funds will be reinvested.

The oil and gas sector is expected to be the top performer once again in the coming year, with dividends estimated to reach nearly 3 trillion rubles, a significant increase from the 1.7 trillion rubles seen in 2023.

Six stocks with stable and high dividend payments were named by the bank. These included LUKOIL (projected return of 16% in 2024), Gazprom Neft (12%), Tatneft preferred shares (11%), Transneft securities (11%), Sberbank (13%) and MTS (12%).

The following stocks have been identified by Alfa Bank as the most promising dividend stocks for the upcoming year: ALROSA, Whoosh, Rosneft, LUKOIL, Gazprom Neft, Norilsk Nickel, and Gazprom.

RBC reports that Russian investment companies have started to get ready for the shift to "fair" taxation of dividend payments, which means that the dividend tax will be imposed after the reporting period or when the funds are taken out of the account.

Previously, a similar system was used in the bond market. Now, dividends from Russian companies are deposited into an account after a 13% tax has been deducted from the total amount of income.

Vladimir Kolychev, Deputy Minister of Finance, stated that the proposed Russian budget will require Sberbank to pay dividends of "at least 50%" of its net profit by 2023. Over the past five years, the dividend per share of Sberbank has grown 1.6 times, reaching 25 rubles in 2022.