A total of 114 companies listed in UAE capital markets will be paying cash dividends worth Dh37.2 billion ($10.1 billion) for 2018, up 16.2 per cent over the previous year, said a report.

Banks are the largest distributors of profits, with 18 Emirati banks reported to disburse up to Dh18.9 billion to their stockholders, which comprises 51 per cent of the total dividends combined, according to latest statistics released by the listed banks.

The 2018 dividends are 13.4 percent higher than the 2017's, which is reflective of the positive performance of the sector across the year, with ADX and DFM websites reporting the sector's profits soaring at more than Dh42 billion.

Annual investment returns in the banking sector amounted to 5 per cent, with free-flowing share dividends valued at around Dh10.12 billion.

Next on the payment list is the telecommunications sector which disbursed around Dh8.54 billion in dividends for 2018 against Dh8.5 billion the previous year followed by the real estate sector which reported Dh4.25 billion in dividends; Dh1.67 billion for services sector; Dh1.43 billion for leisure and hospitality sector and Dh693 million for the financing sector, with the remaining dividends divided over other business platforms.

First Abu Bank led the sector with more than Dh8 billion in dividends, nearly 74 per cent of the bank's capital, with net profits exceeding Dh12 billion.

The ADCB came a distant second with Dh2.4 billion followed by Dubai Islamic Bank with Dh2.3 billion and Emirates NBD with Dh2.2 billion, it added.-TradeArabia News Service