Owners of CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) shares may not be overjoyed by the CSL share price's fall in reaction to the FY24 first-half result, but the bigger dividend may be a very pleasing silver lining.
For readers that haven't read my colleague James Mickleboro's coverage yet, revenue rose 11% in constant currency terms to US$8.05 billion and net profit after tax (NPAT) jumped 17% to US$1.9 billion. The underlying net profit after tax (NPATA) rose by 11% to US$2.02 billion, while NPATA earnings per share (EPS) went up 11% to US$4.18.
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CSL dividend
That profit growth has given the board enough confidence to declare an interim dividend per share of US$1.19. When converted into Australian dollars, the interim dividend is approximately A$1.81 per share, an increase of 12%
If we look at the dividend payout ratio, CSL has decided to pay out 28.5% of underlying net profit and 30.3% of statutory EPS.
The dividend is going to be unfranked, meaning there are no franking credits.
When will this dividend be paid?
Before we get to the dividend payment date, investors need to know about the ex-dividend date. If an investor wants to receive the dividend, they need to own shares before the ex-dividend date – buying on that date means missing out.
The CSL ex-dividend date is 11 March 2024, so investors need to own CSL shares by 10 March 2024 (which is a Sunday) if they want to receive this payment. Therefore, 8 March 2024 (a Friday) is the last trading day to invest.
This upcoming dividend will be paid on 3 April 2024, which is less than two months away.
What's the outlook for more payout growth?
CSL said it's expecting underlying net profit to be between US$2.9 billion to US$3 billion in constant currency terms, which would be annual growth of between 13% to 17%.
Management said the company is "in a strong position to deliver annualised double-digit earnings growth over the medium term".
This profit growth may be promising for the CSL dividend in the coming reporting periods.
