The German economy continues to spur growth while reinforcing its standing as a key global location for direct investment. The country has the most attractive business environment in Europe and the fifth worldwide.
The Germany’s FDI stocks increased to approximately EUR 50 billion. There are more than 55,000 foreign companies are operating in Germany which are employing around three million people. Today I would like to look at one of the best dividend stocks in Germany which is paying a favorable dividend yield.
Metro AG
Profile
It is a German global diversified retail and wholesale company. The company has the largest market shares in its home market, and is one of the most globalized retail and wholesale corporations. It operates of portfolio of sales brands which offers a range of services for private and commercial customers. The company is the fifth-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. It was established in 1964 by Otto Beisheim.
Its portfolio includes Metrol Cash & Carry brand which is active in the self-service wholesale industry, Real hypermarkets brand, which operates the Real stores across Europe offering both food and non-food products, Media market brand which is active on the European market in the consumer electronics retailing industry; Saturn brand, which operates consumer electronics stores and Galeria Kaufhof brand, under which the company operates department stores in Germany and Belgium. The company is also involved in the Real Estate management services of its own real estate, logistics services of its distribution and procurement network, supporting its IT solutions and Advertising servicing.
History
Metro was founded in 1996 within a period of only ten months through a merger of the retail companies Asko Deutsche kaufhaus AG, Kaufhof Holdings AG and Deutsche SB-Kauf AG. At that time the company had a market capitalization of 12.07 billion German marks. It was one of the 20 largest publicly listed companies in Germany. In 1999 the company liquidated its retail properties. This gave the company leeway for key investments, which accelerate its growth in wholesale and retail. Additionally the company continues to consistently expand its international presence: 16 Metro Cash & Carry wholesale outlets, ten Real hypermarkets and 47 nonfood specialty centers open abroad.
In the year of 2000 the company had developed into an internationally oriented company with decentralized management teams. The group employed approximately 220, 000 people in 22 countries. For the first time the group released its financial statement for the year 2000 in accordance to the International Accounting Standards (IAS) to achieve greater transparency in its accounting. In this year the company ranked no. 18 among DAX 3 among DAX 30 companies. The Metro Share was one of the 20 most traded DAX stocks. In 2009 the company has more weigh to the subject sustainability, making it an integral part of its corporate strategy by founding a Sustainability Committee.
Strategy
In 2011 Metro Group refocused its strategy to boost its competitiveness across all sales lines. The company is also boosting its performance strength by increasing its margins and improving its cost position and cash flow. To this end it focuses its entire team on creating value for customers on the basis of five priorities which include Transform, Grow, Improve, Expand, and Innovate.
Why invest in Metro
When you invest in Metro Group which is the world’s fourth-largest retail company you will find many advantages. There are many reasons to invest in this company such as:
- The company is no. 1 in consumer electronics retailing in Europe. It is a leading company in the department store segment in Germany and Belgium.
- It has a unique international portfolio of commercial real estate properties.
- The company is present in more than 30 countries with outstanding market positions in emerging and developed markets worldwide.
- It works with a strategy of profitable growth as well as sustainable and consequent value enhancement.
- The company also has high self-financing ability and above-average return on equity compared to competitors.
Dividend history
At the present time, the company has a market capitalization of 9.80 Billion, EPS is 0.67, P/E ratio is 44.66 and the dividend yield is 3.33% at the annual dividend payout of 1.00.
For more information related to Dividend Stocks in Germany please visit the site DividendInvestor.de 
