The lack of dividend increase in Germany
Safety first. This motto is wide spread in Germany, and it holds true for dividend payments, too. You can feel the pain of SAP’s (SAPGF) management confessing that the pay-out-ratio increased once again:
Source: SAP annual report 2009
Here is what “another slight increase” of the pay-out-ratio looked like back in 2009 leading to a flat dividend:
Source: Stock screener dividendstocks.cash
A flawless history of dividend increase sacrificed for the sake of the pay-out-ratio. This raises the question if companies like SAP can still be considered dividend growth