It won't be long until BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares pay the FY23 half-year dividend to shareholders. But, investors only have a very short amount of time to get their hands on the payment.
BHP is one of the world's biggest dividend payers thanks to its huge iron ore operations, as well as its coal and copper earnings.
BHP ex-dividend date imminent
After a company declares its dividend with the result, the business has to decide when the dividend is going to be paid and what the cut-off date is for the entitlement.
The ex-dividend date is when a new investor buying shares is no longer entitled to the dividend. Investors need to own shares before this date to be entitled to the dividend.
For BHP, the ex-dividend date is 9 March 2023. That means investors need to own BHP shares by the end of trading on 8 March 2023 if they want to receive the dividend.
The payment date for the dividend is 30 March 2023, so it's only a few weeks ago.
BHP's dividend is going to be 90 US cents per share, which represents a dividend cut of 40% compared to the FY22 interim dividend.
This came after a 16% drop in revenue, a 27% fall in profit from operations and a 41% plunge in operating cash flow. The earnings per share (EPS) declined 32% to US$1.275. This translates to a dividend payout ratio of around 70%.
Outlook
The BHP share price and dividend could be significantly impacted by how commodity demand changes in China and the global economy.
BHP CEO Mike Henry said:
We are positive about the demand outlook in the second half of FY23 and into FY24, with strengthening activity in China on the back of recent policy decisions the major driver. We expect domestic demand in China and India to provide stabilising counterweights to the ongoing slowdown in global trade and in the economies of the US, Japan and Europe. The long-term outlook for our commodities remains strong given population growth, rising living standards and the metals intensity of the energy transition, including for steel making raw materials.
BHP share price snapshot
Over the past six months, BHP shares have gone up around 30%.
