The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price is sliding on the back of the company's full-year earnings today, and there's still been no word on dividends from the travel share.
Indeed, the last time the market heard dividend-related news from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel giant was more than two years ago.
But its ASX 200 travel peer Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) is back on the beat, offering investors a 5-cent unfranked dividend for financial year 2022 (FY22) earlier this month.
So, when might those invested in Flight Centre shares next see a dividend? Let's take a look.
Right now, Flight Centre shares are swapping hands for $16.46 apiece, marking a 5% tumble.
When will Flight Centre shares pay a dividend?
As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the globe in March 2020, Flight Centre offered investors a 40-cent dividend. Who would have guessed that would be the last pay-out shareholders would receive from the company for years to come?
Of course, there's a simple reason as to why the ASX 200 travel agency hasn't been paying out a portion of its profits in the form of dividends in that time. It's because it hasn't turned a profit.
Well, that's not entirely true. Flight Centre announced this morning that it returned to the green in the second half, recording a $35 million underlying profit for the final quarter of FY22.
That helped buoy its full-year results, in which the company posted an underlying after-tax loss of $272.6 million. While it can be argued that no loss is a good loss, today's result marks a significant year-on-year improvement. It recorded a $364 million underlying loss for FY21.
Meanwhile, Corporate Travel posted a $17.5 million underlying after-tax profit for FY22. That allowed the company to pay out a portion of such profits in the form of dividends.
While Flight Centre isn't quite there yet, the start of FY23 has brought even brighter skies for the ASX 200 travel share. Though, it hasn't offered earnings guidance.
Here's hoping its upwards trajectory will continue and Flight Centre shareholders can recognise a dividend sometime in the near future.
