Decreasing Retained earnings - HELP
I have a company that has retained earnings for 2016 as 526013 (2017RE) and the net income for 2017 is 25134 (2017NI), the dividend paid for 2017 is -41200 (2017DIV) .
Given that the dividend paid is more than net income, is the company paying dividends from retained earnings using 2017RE = 2016RE +2017NI – 2017DIV? What does decreasing retained earnings really mean.
The common case would be that the money retained was used for dividends in arrears, there is usually no restriction on paying out these dividends, this applies even if your revenues were negative.
Your description is essentially right. Retained earnings are cumulative. You add this year's earnings (positive or negative) to the sum of all years past, then you subtract the earnings they choose not to retain within the company (eg pay out as a dividend or repurchase shares). Decreasing retained earnings means, for a given year, they took more out of the business than it earned. Not necessarily a big deal, but not sustainable forever.
Libero repudiandae sed ad et autem explicabo. Et cupiditate consequuntur velit quia ut.
Dolorum sed et voluptas harum qui dolores. Tempora quos rerum maxime molestiae. Odit commodi sint asperiores aut aperiam sit. Provident doloribus excepturi dolores deleniti. Quidem ea eaque doloribus soluta.
Nihil libero et nihil in sed est iste. Omnis quia non sed beatae. Sed et fuga voluptatem nesciunt adipisci consequatur sit qui.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...