Dividend policy of selected public companies from the manufacturing sector in Bulgaria

Purpose: The study aims to analyze the dividend policy of selected public companies from the manufacturing industry in Bulgaria in order to identify the main features and trends of this policy. Design/Methodology/Approach: To achieve the goal of the study, the following were used: descriptive analysis, synthesis and comparative analysis. Data for selected companies traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange for the period 2014-2023 were used. Findings: The majority of the companies from the manufacturing industry in Bulgaria which are classified in the sector of industrial goods and materials have never paid cash dividends during the analyzed ten-year period. Of these public companies, 40% of companies that paid cash dividends during the period under review (including those that did so only once) did so in every year of the period. Only half of the companies analyzed paid cash dividends regularly throughout the entire period analyzed while maintaining a consistent dividend policy. The majority of the companies surveyed maintained or even increased the size of dividends for the pandemic years 2020 and 2021. Practical Implications: The results of the study on the practice and specific features of the dividend policy of companies from the Bulgarian manufacturing industry can be of use to analysts and investors. Originality/Value: The study of the dividend policy of companies from a particular sector of the economy adds new analyses to the existing literature in the field of dividend policy.