RE: dividend cut in 2012?obviously no one here knows 100% what the company has in store for its dividend in 2012 and beyond
The one thing I want to point out, though, is the author of the article seems to be using what he calls a sustainability ratio of over 140% as his main argument for a dividend cut. However, he doesn't give us what the sustainability ratio is for nae's peers, for comparison purposes. CIBC calculates, what they call, nae's total payout ratio (which I believe is the same thing as the author's sustainability ratio) of 151% vs the group average of 156%. Now, this doesn't mean they wont cut, but its interesting to have the two numbers side by side.
Personally, I regard divy cuts as a last line of defence. I'll be disappointed if they cut 2 cents off their div just to save 36 mill a year. I'd rather see the money generated from production increase, sale of non-core, non-producing assets or even increased bank lines than a dividend cut. imo