Last week, AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL) was one of the ASX 200 shares that reported its latest earnings.
As we went through at the time, investors rewarded the company for what it had to report for the 2024 financial year.
That's understandable if we rehash those numbers. For the 12 months to 30 June, AGL revealed that it had recorded a statutory profit of $711 million, up handily from the loss of $1.3 billion the energy generator and retailer booked for FY2023.
That was enabled by a 189% spike in underlying net profits after tax (NPAT) to $812 million. As well as a 63% year-on-year rise in underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to $2.22 billion.
AGL did warn investors that both its net profits and EBITDA would unlikely be that high over the current 2025 financial year. It guided a net profit of between $530 and $730 million. It also pencilled in an EBITDA of between $1.87 and $2.17 billion.
Even so, investors sent AGL shares up a solid 2.3% on the day the earnings came out. Plus another 8.3% over the following three trading days.
But let's talk about the latest AGL dividend.
AGL shares up income game with supersized dividend
Perhaps one of the reasons investors were so excited over AGL's earnings was the dividend announcement they were treated to.
The company declared a final dividend of 35 cents per share for FY2024. Like most of its recent payouts, this dividend will be paid without any franking credits attached.
Even so, this dividend represented a 52% rise over the final dividend of 23 cents per share that investors were paid out this time last year. It's also a healthy increase over the March interim dividend of 26 cents per share.
Pleasingly, as my Fool colleague Tristan went through last week, this dividend payment will represent a dividend payout ratio of 50% of AGL's underlying NPAT. That's right on the bottom end of its 50-75% target policy.
However delightful this dividend may be, eligibility for it will soon close. AGL has nominated next Tuesday, 27 August, as this payment's ex-dividend date. That means that anyone who wishes to secure this dividend but doesn't already own AGL shares will need to buy before the market closes on Monday.
Eligible investors will then receive their AGL cash next month on 26 September. AGL's dividend reinvestment plan is not operational for this payment. As such, there will be no option to receive additional shares instead of cash this time.
At the current AGL share price of $11.48 (at the time of writing), this ASX 200 stock is trading on a dividend yield of 5.31%.
