Owners of CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) shares can feel a bit richer today because a dividend is on its way.
It was recently ASX reporting season and CSL was one of the companies to release its FY24 half-year report.
In that result, we learned that revenue increased by 11% to US$8.05 billion in constant exchange rate terms.
Companies pay their dividends from the net profit after tax (NPAT) they generate. CSL reported that its statutory NPAT rose 17% to $1.9 billion, underlying net profit (NPATA) rose by 11% to $2.02 billion and NPATA earnings per share (EPS) increased by 11% to $4.18.
With that double-digit profit growth, CSL's board felt confident enough to deliver a pleasing increase to the interim dividend.
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CSL dividend
The ASX healthcare share decided to declare an interim dividend per share of US$1.19. When converted into Australian dollars, the CSL half-year dividend is going to be AU$1.799 per share.
This dividend is entirely unfranked, so there are no franking credits attached to the dividend.
At the current CSL share price, that payment translates into a dividend yield of around 0.6%.
Of course, we shouldn't think about the dividend yield as just one payment – shareholders usually receive two dividends over the course of 12 months.
According to the forecast on Commsec, owners of CSL shares are predicted to receive an annual dividend of $4 per share, which translates into a dividend yield of 1.4%.
That's not exactly a huge yield, but it's small partly because the dividend payout ratio is only expected to be 42.7% – that means the ASX healthcare share is forecast to retain a majority of its net profit generated.
The company has a history of investing billions of dollars into research and development to create the next vaccines and treatments.
Profit guidance
CSL is expecting its underlying profit (the NPATA) to be in the range of US$2.9 billion to US$3 billion in current exchange rate terms. That profit would represent year over year growth of between 13% to 17% compared to FY23.
Management said CSL is in a "strong position to deliver annualised double-digit earnings growth over the medium-term."
The company also said the strong growth of its immunoglobulins franchise is "expected to continue as patient demand remains strong". CSL also has a number of initiatives underway in plasma collections that are "improving efficiencies and processing times, supporting continued expansion in CSL Behring's gross margin".
CSL share price snapshot
Over the last six months, CSL shares have risen around 15%.
