Dividends hit record $4.9L crore in FY25

In a bold display of corporate confidence, Indian companies have handsomely rewarded shareholders with a record ₹4.9 lakh crore in dividends in FY25, even as profit growth slowed.

- Mayur Bhalerao

MUMBAI: The generous payout underscores a strategic shift among firms to prioritise returns for investors over aggressive reinvestment, signalling both optimism and caution in a volatile economic climate.

A Mint analysis of 496 BSE 500 companies, based on Capitaline data that uses both audited and unaudited numbers (including proposed dividends), shows that dividend payouts rose 11% year-on-year in FY25, outpacing net profit growth of 9.5%. This marks the first such divergence in three years.