We got a couple of blockbuster earnings reports this Wednesday as ASX earnings season rolls on this February. And investors in WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) will no doubt be delighted with what this ASX 200 tech stock had in store.
We of course heard some dramatic news from supermarket giant Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW). You can read more about that here.
But today, let's discuss the remarkable statistics coming out of the logistical solutions company WiseTech.
So, as we covered this morning, WiseTech reported an astonishing 32% rise in revenues to $500 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $230 million. That was up 23% year on year. Underlying net profits after tax (NPAT) were up 5% to $128 million.
But perhaps most remarkable was WiseTech's dividend announcement.
The company revealed to investors that its next interim dividend would be worth a fully-franked 7.7 cents per share.
This is a remarkable metric for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a pleasing 17% rise on the 6.6 cents per share interim dividend investors got last year.
But secondly, this shareholder payment is the fifteenth dividend increase in a row since WiseTech began funding dividend payments back in 2017.
Yes, ever since April 2017, every interim and final dividend WiseTech has declared has been a year-on-year increase over the payment that preceded it.
WiseTech's first two dividend payments from 2017 were an interim dividend of 1 cent per share, and a final dividend worth 1.2 cents per share.
In 2023, WiseTech doled out that interim dividend of 6.6 cents per share, as well as a final dividend of 8.4 cents. This means that over the past seven years, WiseTech investors have seen their shareholder income soar almost 600%.
Image source: Getty Images
The nuts and bolts of the record WiseTech interim dividend
WiseTech shares are scheduled to trade ex-dividend for this latest shareholder payment next month on 8 March. So 7 March will be the last day that investors will be able to buy WiseTech shares with the rights to this latest dividend attached. Payday is then set for 5 April.
WiseTech will be running a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) for this payment. Investors who'd prefer to receive WiseTech shares instead of the usual cash payment will need to enrol in the DRP before the close of business on 12 March.
At the current Wisetech share price of $88.02, this tech stock has a trailing dividend yield of 0.17%. The company now has a new forward dividend yield of 0.18%.
