Marlin Global Limited (NZSE:MLN) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date is two business days before a company's record date in most cases, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. This means that investors who purchase Marlin Global's shares on or after the 4th of June will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 27th of June.

The company's next dividend payment will be NZ$0.0190999 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of NZ$0.078 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Marlin Global has a trailing yield of 8.4% on the current share price of NZ$0.93. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

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Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Marlin Global paid out 50% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

See our latest analysis for Marlin Global

Click here to see how much of its profit Marlin Global paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Fortunately for readers, Marlin Global's earnings per share have been growing at 19% a year for the past five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Marlin Global has delivered an average of 0.6% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth.