All eyes will be on the Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price on Thursday when the company releases its earnings for the first half of financial year 2022.
While there will be plenty to cover in the company's report, here are some of the key happenings to look out for.
As of Monday's close, the Transurban share price is $12.83, down 0.7% on the day.
Here's what could drive the Transurban share price on Thursday
The Transurban share price could be in for a wild ride later this week as it reports on a period that brought many ups and downs.
While the company hasn't provided guidance for financial year 2022, it stated it plans to pay dividends in line with its free cash, excluding capital releases.
As The Motley Fool Australia reported last month, some brokers think Transurban will start to increase its dividends from financial year 2022 after cutting them with the onset of COVID-19.
Morgans is predicting the company to pay out 35 cents a share this financial year and 55.3 cents in financial year 2023.
For comparison, it handed investors 36.5 cents per share in financial year 2021 and 59 cents in financial year 2019.
What else could be included in the company's earnings?
Over the six months ended 31 December, Transurban made a transformational acquisition and suffered through significant lockdowns. But that's not all.
After it flagged ongoing issues with the West Gate Tunnel project in its most recent full-year results, the company announced it had been hit with another $1.7 billion bill from the project in December.
Of course, that could put a dampener on its half-year results.
Additionally, Transurban shareholders may be a little anxious as the company prepares to reveal the full impact of lockdowns caused by Australia's Delta outbreak.
It's previously stated the September quarter saw its traffic volume 12% lower than that of the previous comparable period and 34% lower than that of 2019.
Finally, during the half-year just been, Sydney Transport Partners – 50% owned by Transurban – acquired the remaining 49% stake in Sydney's WestConnex for $11.1 billion.
That will undoubtedly form a talking point in the company's half-year report.
