Which of the following would be a reason for a company to adopt a low...

A low dividend payout means the company is retaining more profits instead of distributing them. A classic reason (straight from CIMA F3 theory) is that external finance is expensive or hard to obtain, so the firm relies on retained earnings to fund investments.

High profitability (A) usually supports higher dividends.

Lack of investment opportunities (C) would lead to higher dividends, not lower.