The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) share Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) is about to go ex-dividend.
For investors interested in the Soul Pattinson dividend, time is nearly up for the latest offering.
The payment date is what shareholders may want to know about the most. But, the ex-dividend date is the date when investors buying shares will no longer be entitled to the upcoming dividend – there has to be a cut-off date somewhere.
This ASX 200 share has a different reporting cycle than most other businesses, which is why the final dividend for FY22 is being paid later than other businesses.
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Soul Pattinson dividend details
Soul Patts shares have an ex-dividend date of 18 November 2022, so today is the last day for investors to buy shares and get access to that dividend.
The dividend payment date is 12 December 2022, so investors will need to wait another month for the cash to hit their bank accounts.
How big is the dividend going to be? In the FY22 result, Soul Pattinson announced that it was increasing its total annual ordinary dividend by 16.1% to 72 cents per share. The final ordinary dividend is 43 cents per share and the company is also paying a 15 cents per share special dividend.
Why is Soul Pattinson paying a special dividend?
The ASX 200 dividend share had a strong year in FY22. Group regular profit after tax increased by 154.4% to $834.6 million. While net cash flow from investments increased 93% to $347.9 million. The pre-tax net asset value (NAV) jumped 71.6% to $9.96 billion.
In per-share terms, net cash flow from investments grew 28% and pre-tax NAV increased by 13.8%.
The business is currently benefitting from higher coal prices thanks to its shareholding in New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC). New Hope is paying much bigger to shareholders at the moment.
What's the outlook for this ASX 200 dividend share?
In terms of the dividend, Soul Pattinson chair Robert Millner said:
WHSP has an excellent track record of growing dividends year after year. Over the last 20 years, the dividend has increased every year and grown at a compound average growth rate of 8.5%.
There is no other company in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) with this track record of growing dividends.
Comments by CEO Todd Barlow aimed to reassure investors that the company can get through this period and also find opportunities:
The market remains volatile and we expect to see valuations across a range of asset classes become more reasonable. We continue to see strong opportunities to deploy capital, particularly across private equity and structured credit, as public equity markets become less accessible.
We believe the portfolio is well-positioned for rising interest rates, inflation and any potential downturn in the business cycle. Our portfolio focuses on investing in, and supporting, businesses with good prospects over the long term. We focus on well-managed, low-cost, cash-generating businesses which we expect to be resilient through the cycle.
We have ample cash and liquidity to take advantage of new opportunities as we further diversify the portfolio and adjust for changing market conditions.
Soul Pattinson share price snapshot
Over the last month, the ASX 200 dividend share has seen a 4.76% rise in its shares.
