Semiannually is a term that refers to things that are paid, published, reported, or any other time every year, usually at least once every six months.
For instance, a ten-year general obligation bond issued by the Buckeye City, Ohio Consolidated School District in 2020 will be paying an interest rate on a semiannual schedule every year until the bond’s expiration year in the 2030. The investors who purchase the bonds will be able to be paid interest twice in the same year; in this instance, once in June and then in December. The school district is also expected to release a semiannual report of its finances, twice in February, and again in November.
Understanding Semiannual
Semiannual is just a word that refers to a occurrence occurring every two years. For example, a firm may have semiannual company events or a couple might have a wedding celebration every year, or a family might go on a vacation every year. Any event that occurs twice per year is done annually.
If an company gives an annual dividend to its shareholders, shareholders will receive dividends two times a year. (A corporation is able to choose how many dividends to pay annually, if they are.) Reports or financial statements are usually released on an annual (four times each year) basis. It is uncommon for corporations to release financial statements just semiannually. They do release an annual report according to the definition, is published every year.
It is crucial to know the semiannual when buying bonds. The term “bond” is typically defined by its rate that it offers to the bondholder. For instance the bond of $2,000 could have an annual yield of 5percent. It is crucial to determine whether this 5% is paid semi-annually or annually to be aware of the amount you’d receive as the bond holder.
If, for instance, that bond was paying the dividend each year the bond holder would be paid 100 dollars per year. If the bond paid its yield semi-annually, then the bondholder will receive $200 per year. This is a crucial difference to be aware of when buying bonds.
U.S. Treasury bonds earn a return annually.
Semiannually vs. Biennial
When semiannual is a term that refers to something happening twice in one calendar year the term biennial is an expression used to describe things that happen every year. Often, biennial is misunderstood with biannual, which refers to exactly the exact same term as semiannual: things that happen twice per year.
Example of Semiannual
The company ABC has done well in the past five years, consistently producing a profit, and growing profits. The company is deciding to begin making payments to shareholders dividends. shareholders dividends in order to distribute part of its earnings. ABC’s management has decided to pay the dividend of $0.50 per share.
It also determines that the dividend is given out on a semiannual basis. The shareholders will receive one dividend of $0.50 twice per year to receive a total dividend of $1 over the course of the year. Dividends will be paid in June and December.
