Variable Dividends Are a Growing Trend in Resources and Energy. Here’s Who Doing It—and Why.

For companies that pump out cash, dividends are a popular way to share some of it with their shareholders. But that cash-generation power may fluctuate, so many companies in the energy and resources sectors have been turning to variable dividend payments.

Here’s how it works: Companies pay a relatively low base dividend that they believe they can maintain throughout an economic cycle, plus a variable dividend based on their earnings that often involves a formula. This differs from special dividends, which are one-off events…

View Article Origin Here