Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Impro Precision Industries Limited (HKG:1286) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. In other words, investors can purchase Impro Precision Industries' shares before the 25th of March in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 11th of April.

The company's upcoming dividend is HK$0.08 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of HK$0.16 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Impro Precision Industries stock has a trailing yield of around 6.0% on the current share price of HK$2.67. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Impro Precision Industries's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Impro Precision Industries paid out 52% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Dividends consumed 53% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.

It's positive to see that Impro Precision Industries's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.

Click here to see how much of its profit Impro Precision Industries paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Impro Precision Industries, with earnings per share up 2.6% on average over the last five years. Earnings per share growth has been slim, and the company is already paying out a majority of its earnings. While there is some room to both increase the payout ratio and reinvest in the business, generally the higher a payout ratio goes, the lower a company's prospects for future growth.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last five years, Impro Precision Industries has lifted its dividend by approximately 15% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy Impro Precision Industries for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share growth has been unremarkable, and while the company is paying out a majority of its earnings and cash flow in the form of dividends, the dividend payments don't appear excessive. To summarise, Impro Precision Industries looks okay on this analysis, although it doesn't appear a stand-out opportunity.

With that being said, if dividends aren't your biggest concern with Impro Precision Industries, you should know about the other risks facing this business. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Impro Precision Industries you should know about.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.