The Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price closed higher amid the company's shareholders receiving a gift today.
The mining company's shares finished the day up 1.59% to $19.80 apiece. This means Fortescue shares have lifted by almost 5% in the past week.
In context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also closed higher on Wednesday. The benchmark index finished 0.67% ahead at 7,514.5 points.
Fortescue pays out interim dividend
Last month, Fortescue reported mixed numbers across key metrics in its results for the first half of the 2022 financial year.
In summary, total revenue fell 13% to US$8.1 billion over the prior corresponding period (H1 FY21 $9.33 billion). This was driven by a decline in the price realisation of iron ore to US$96/dmt (H1 FY21 US$114/dmt).
Management noted that despite the loss of revenue, the company achieved record shipments for the six-month period ending 31 December 2021.
However, this wasn't enough for the miner to improve its bottom line. As such, net profit after tax (NPAT) came to $2.8 billion, down 32% on the first half of FY21.
Nonetheless, the board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 86 cents per share to be paid on 30 March (today). This represents a 41% decrease on the H1 FY21 dividend of $1.47 per share.
When calculating against the current share price, Fortescue is trailing on a forecast fully franked dividend yield of 15.01%.
In addition, the current payout ratio is calculated to be 70% of the mining outfit's profits.
This is consistent with management's capital allocation framework and dividend policy to pay out between 50% to 80% of full-year NPAT.
Fortescue share price summary
Despite being in the green today, the Fortescue share price is relatively flat over the past 12 months.
When looking at 2022 alone, its shares are up around 3%.
Fortescue has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 7 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $60.9 billion.
