The last five years have brought turbulent times for the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price. The stock soared to an all-time high in mid-2018 before plummeting amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indeed, a $13,000 investment in Flight Centre five years ago would have seen an investor with 253 shares, having paid $51.30 apiece.
Those stocks would currently be worth around $4,675.44. The Flight Centre share price last traded at $18.48 – 64% lower than it was at this point in 2018.
For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has risen 24% in that time.
Fortunately, Flight Centre's dividends might have stifled some of the pain born from its share price's tumble. Let's take a look.
Image source: Getty Images
All dividends paid to those holding Flight Centre shares
Let's dive into all the dividends handed to those invested in Flight Centre shares since 2018:
| Flight Centre dividends' pay date | Type | Dividend amount |
| October 2019 | Final | 98 cents |
| April 2019 | Interim | 60 cents |
| April 2019 | Special | $1.49 |
| October 2018 | Final | $1.07 |
| April 2018 | Interim | 60 cents |
| Total: | $4.74 |
That's right, the company hasn't paid a dividend since 2019. And for good reason.
It hasn't turned a profit since the first half of financial year 2020 – for which it initially declared but later revoked a 40-cent dividend.
Thus, the ASX 200 travel stock has paid just $4.74 per share in dividends over the last five years – meaning our figurative parcel has yielded around $1,199.22 of passive income over its life.
Though, on a more positive note, each of those payouts was fully franked. That means they might have brought additional benefits for some investors come tax time.
And the future appears brighter for Flight Centre.
The company's leisure and corporate businesses both reached profitability in all geographic segments aside from Asia last half. Meanwhile, many analysts forecast the travel giant will return to dividend in financial year 2024 or financial year 2025.
