A company will tend to pay lower rate of dividend if - 

Restrictive clauses imposed by lender, low access to capital market, falling short of cash, good growth opportunities available. 

Growth Opportunities: Companies having good growth opportunities retain more money out of their earnings so as to finance the required investment. The dividend in growth companies is, therefore, smaller, than that in the non– growth companies.

Cash Flow Position: The payment of dividend involves an outflow of cash. A company may be earning profit but may be short on cash. Availability of enough cash in the company is necessary for declaration of dividend.

Access to Capital Market: Large and reputed companies generally have easy access to the capital market and, therefore, may depend less on retained earning to finance their growth. These companies tend to pay higher dividends than the smaller companies which have relatively low access to the market.

Legal Constraints: Certain provisions of the Companies Act place restrictions on payouts as dividend. Such provisions must be adhered to while declaring the dividend.