Debt-funded dividend
A payment that operating cash did not cover and that was financed by borrowing or by selling assets.
How to read the number
Net debt rises while the business is unchanged: the holder receives money now against a heavier load carried by the company.
When the metric lies
The accounts show it in the movement of debt and cash for the period, not in the dividend line. The size of the payment alone never reveals how it was funded.
Also known as: debt funded dividend