The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is in focus after the release of its FY22 results. Shareholders will want to know about the Wesfarmers dividend.
Wesfarmers says that it's developing platforms to support long-term shareholder returns.
In the 2022 financial year, it said that revenue rose by 8.5% to $36.8 billion. Net profit after tax (NPAT) fell 1.2% to $2.35 billion and earnings per share (EPS) dropped 1.2% to 207.8 cents. Second half net profit after tax rose 13.1%.
Wesfarmers dividend
The Wesfarmers board decided to declare a fully franked final ordinary dividend of $1 per share. This represented an increase of 11.1% which reflected the "strong" net profit after tax in the second half of FY22.
Wesfarmers said that the ex-dividend date for the final dividend is 31 August 2022. The dividend is expected to be paid on 6 October 2022.
That brought the full year dividend to $1.80 per share, which was an increase of 1.1%.
There will be a dividend re-investment plan (DRP), but it won't be underwritten. The shares are expected to be purchased on market. The last day for application for the DRP is 2 September 2022.
How did Wesfarmers decide on this dividend payment?
The company said that dividend distributions are determined based on franking credit availability, current earnings, cash flows, future cash flow requirements and targeted credit metrics.
Wesfarmers said that it's maintaining its focus on maximising the value of franking credits for shareholders.
Cash flow and balance sheet
Wesfarmers reported that operating cash flow reduced 32% to $2.3 billion and free cash flow reduced 59.5% to $1.11 billion.
It said that divisional operating cash flow declined 14.2% to $4.1 billion, with divisional cash generation of 78%. This was due to retail net working capital movements due to 'normalisation' in inventory after temporarily low balances in FY20 and FY21, and the timing of supplier payments. There was also significantly higher utilisation of leave provisions.
Free cash flow was partly lower because of cash paid for the acquisitions of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries and Beaumont Tiles.
It finished with a net financial debt position of $4.3 billion.
Wesfarmers share price snapshot
Over the past six months, Wesfarmers shares have fallen by around 3%.
