Cash Dividends and Share Repurchases in Ukrainian Pharmaceutical Companies

The study attempts to pinpoint politically and economically induced corporate payout patterns in Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms. The authors identify key trends of corporate payouts of private pharmaceutical companies in Ukraine. The research analyses panel data generated from the ten biggest firms during 2010-2017. Pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is used to check if financial performance, competition and macroeconomic indicators affect the level of cash dividends and share repurchases. The final sample includes 720 observations. The decision to pay a certain proportion of dividends and repurchases is an outcome of countervailing macroeconomic, firm-level, competitive and political forces. The amount of cash dividends is directly proportional to retained earnings and earnings per share. Dividends also tend to decline as total assets grow. Share repurchases are negatively affected by Consumer Price Index and market competition and boosted by increased retained earnings.