Washington H Soul Pattinson & Co Ltd (ASX: SOL) shareholders will have something to cheer about today as the company pays out its latest dividend.
The investment house is rewarding eligible investors with a fully franked interim dividend of 29 cents per share.
At Wednesday's market close, the Soul Patts share price finished 3.27% lower to $26.34.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also headed south yesterday with a 1.75% loss to 6,941 points.
Let's take a look at all the details regarding the Soul Patts dividend.
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Soul Patts pays out interim dividend
Soul Patts delivered a solid performance for its first-half results for the 2022 financial year in March.
In summary, Soul Patts reported strong numbers despite its statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) recording a loss of $643 million.
Major contributors to the top line result were New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), and Round Oak Metals as well as higher dividends from the large-cap equities portfolio. The latter increased by roughly $2.7 billion due to the Milton acquisition which was completed on 5 October 2021.
The biggest win for shareholders came from the board's decision to increase the interim dividend by 11.5% over H1 FY21.
Net cash flow from investments stood at $182.6 million, up 114% on the prior corresponding period which supported the higher dividend.
Notably, this reflected one of the highest first-half dividends in the history of Soul Patts.
When calculating against the current share price, the company is trailing on a forecast dividend yield of 2.35%.
Soul Patts share price snapshot
This year to date, the Soul Patts share price has fallen 11% on the back of weakened investor sentiment. It is also down around 10% over the past 12 months.
A series of market shocks such as the Omicron lockdown, the war in Ukraine, and steep inflationary movements haven't helped the company.
Nonetheless, the group previously noted it has ample firepower on its balance sheet to purchase attractive investments during market downturns.
Soul Patts has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 23.53 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $9.5 billion.
