Likelihood of dividends increases this year

Listed companies will distribute more dividends this year than 2018, according to data collected by Leon Depolas Securities for Kathimerini.
"Data announced to date show that in the next four months at least 20 companies listed on the Athens Exchange will distribute dividends and capital returns worth at least 890 million euros, pending approval by their general meetings," says Nikos Kafkas, head of the Analysis Department at Leon Depolas.
The lion's share (81 percent) of dividends will come from blue chips, while eight out of the 20 companies confirmed to be distributing dividends will be increasing returns for shareholders compared to 2018.
This dividend payout partly serves to sustain the recent rise of stock prices and indexes, Kafkas observes.
Last year 62 listed companies distributed a total of 1.3 billion euros in dividends and capital returns, down from...