The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the New Zealand-listed companies’ dividend policy

Dividends motivate investors to allocate funds to the stock market. The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges to the global economy, impacting companies' financial performance and dividend policies worldwide. This research analyses dividend changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. Employing a quantitative research design, secondary data were sourced from Refinitiv and verified against annual reports. Inferential and descriptive analysis methods, including correlation and panel data regression, examined financial data from 116 publicly listed New Zealand companies between 2017 and 2023. This research findings indicate that New Zealand’s stock market exhibited volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some companies maintaining consistent dividend payouts. This research provides critical insights for investors seeking to preserve the value of their investments by identifying companies that support their value during crises. This research found that New Zealand-listed companies did not distribute dividends uniformly during such periods; some offered higher dividends and enhanced dividends during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, companies prioritising gender diversity are recognised as value creators. Moreover, listed companies based solely in New Zealand tend to pay higher dividends than those with international operations. This research provides insights into the factors that inform investment decisions, particularly for shareholders seeking strong dividend yields. This research is focused on New Zealand-listed companies which may limit the generalisability of findings on non-listed small and middle-sized companies. This research helps managers and shareholders understand the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on dividend policies and highlights the need for capital preservation for the companies' financial stability.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Applied Management

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Otago Polytechnic | Te Pūkenga

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Adhikari, Rajesh

• COVID-19 pandemic
• New Zealand companies
• New Zealand stock exchange
• dividend policies

Statement dc:rights

• This thesis is publicly available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6748

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10652/6748