Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares are trading at $21.73 in late afternoon trading on Friday.
As earning season rolls on, investors may be wondering what to expect from Flight Centre this year in terms of dividends.
After all, the ASX 200 travel share only resumed paying dividends last year.
Due to the pandemic, the company ran a four-year freeze on dividends to conserve cash.
When Flight Centre announced that dividends were back in its FY23 full-year results, it committed to paying 50% to 60% of net profit after tax (NPAT) in dividends and/or buybacks moving forward.
Flight Centre paid shareholders 18 cents per share, fully franked, as the final dividend for FY23. There was no interim dividend.
So this is likely the first year since 2019 that Flight Centre will pay both an interim and final dividend.
How much will Flight Centre pay in dividends in 2024?
The consensus analyst forecast published on CommSec is for Flight Centre to pay 47.4 cents per share in total annual dividends in 2024. The experts tip this will rise to 67.3 cents in 2025 and 81 cents in 2026.
A $10,000 budget (less a brokerage fee of $5) will buy you 459 Flight Centre shares at the current price.
Total spend = $9,974.07.
If we multiply 459 Flight Centre shares by the 2024 forecast dividend of 47.4 cents, we get a total annual dividend amount of $217.57. That's a dividend yield of 2.18%.
But Flight Centre shares also pay dividends with 100% franking.
So, if we include the franking benefit, we get a total gross annual dividend of $310.81. That's a gross dividend yield of 3.12%.
What about 2025 and 2026?
As outlined above, the dividends are expected to go higher.
So, if you were to buy Flight Centre stock at today's share price, here are the gross dividend amounts and yields you are forecast to receive in 2025 and 2026:
2025: 459 x 67.3 cents = $308.91. With franking, it's $441.30. Gross dividend yield = 4.42%.
2026: 459 x 81 cents = $371.79. With franking, it's $531.13. Gross dividend yield = 5.33%.
