When it comes to dividends, there are few larger than the Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) dividend.
In light of this, it is no surprise that the mining giant is a big favourite of income investors.
But if you want to receive its next dividend payment, you will have to get a wriggle on.
Rio Tinto's FY 2022 results
Last month, the mining giant released its full-year results for FY 2022.
In case you missed it, for the 12 months ended 31 December, the miner reported a 13% decline in revenue to US$55,554 million and a 41% reduction in net profit after tax to US$12,420 million.
This reflects the unfavourable movement in commodity prices, the impact of higher energy and raw materials prices on its operations, and higher rates of inflation on operating costs and closure liabilities.
The Rio Tinto dividend
Unfortunately, with Rio Tinto's profits under pressure, the miner was forced to slash its dividend.
The Rio Tinto board elected to cut its fully franked final dividend by 46% to US$2.25 per share, bringing its full-year dividend to a total of US$4.92 per share in FY 2022.
Rio Tinto's full-year dividend is a 38% reduction on what was paid a year earlier and equates to a total payout of US$8 billion. This represents a payout ratio of 60% of underlying earnings.
While the miner's interim dividend has been and gone, it isn't too late to receive its final dividend, which currently equates to a ~2.7% yield.
Rio Tinto's shares will trade ex-dividend on Thursday 9 March. This means that investors have today and tomorrow's session to buy shares if they want to be eligible to receive it on the payment date of 20 April.
Goldman Sachs would approve of buying Rio Tinto's shares. As covered here, yesterday the broker added Rio Tinto to its conviction list with a buy rating and $140.40 price target.
