Dividend Policy Determinants in New Zealand-listed Companies: Financial Performance, Board Gender Diversity, and Firm Operational Scope

Abstract

Among developed-market stock exchanges, the NZX is distinctive. Its imputation credit system and capital-gains-tax exemption create financial incentives for firms to distribute earnings that have no close parallel elsewhere, yet what actually drives payout decisions at the firm level has never been tested in a multivariate panel framework. We analyzed 116 NZX-listed companies from 2017 to 2023. The results show that revenue and net profit prove to be the dominant positive predictors of dividend payout; cash flow and shareholders’ equity are negatively associated with the payout, suggesting that the firms prioritize capital retention in a manner consistent with the pecking order theory. Market capitalization adds nothing once earnings quality is accounted for in the model. Firms in which women occupied more than half of board seats paid, on average, seventeen times more in dividends than those with minimal female representation, a gap sustained without exception across all seven years. Domestic firms outpaid multinational firms throughout and, by 2023, had exceeded their own pre-period baseline, while multinationals had not. Our findings have implications for income-focused investors, for boards weighing payout strategies, and for policymakers assessing the case for diversity requirements.