Soup Restaurant final dividend lowered 65%

-initial post 6.51pm
-added thoughts 10.52pm

Soup Restaurant is declaring lesser dividend payout at $0.175 cents (versus $0.50 cents previously).  Its share price was hammered down by 8.966% (-$0.013) to close at $0.132.  Hey, this reaction should only happen the next day and not today. 

Its full year financials are more or less mirrored that of its half time results announced in August last year.  Same goes for its commentary.  Balance sheet and cashflow are at good levels.  So, there are no surprises of adversely bad results.  As a matter of fact it managed to contain costs (variable expenses, overheads) - for example :-

Purchases and other consumables
- over Revenue :- full year 25%, half time 26%
- y-o-y :- full year 8%, half time 10%

Employee benefits expenses
- over Revenue :- full year 31.7%, half time 31.9%
-y-o-y :- full year 13.6%, half time 15.3%

Other expenses
- over Revenue :- full year 34%, half time 33%
-y-o-y :- full year 19%, half time 21%

The three major expenses categories were all lower y-o-y.

y-o-y,  Profit before tax -37.6% but Operating profit -23.4%

The high costs mentioned in the above already known since half time and it is able to control them to almost same level at full year. 

Dividends on 2010 results :- Interim $0.35 cents + Special $0.65 cents, Final $0.50 cents

Dividends on 2011 results :- Interim $0.35 cents, Final $0.175 cents

Something is fishy here.  I do not mean the shark fins soup which can be easily masked or enhanced with vinegar or pepper.  But the way its share price reacting badly prior to its financial results this evening whereby a lower dividend payout rate was declared.  Overall market, penny stocks are still in play.  There are minor profit taking in some pennies but the timing of its share price drop and its dividend announcement are both too coincidental to be true.  Really hard to believe this.