It's been a great day for Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) shares so far this Tuesday, as investors got to hear how the ASX 200 consumer staples giant and blue-chip share's 2024 financial year went. At the time of writing, Coles shares are up a healthy 1.92% at $18.82 each. It seems Coles investors liked the earnings (and dividends) that were announced this morning.
Yes, Coles is up 1.92% at $18.82, not too far away from the new 52-week high of $19.05 that Coles hit this morning just after market open. That's certainly better than the 0.04% that the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen by so far today.
As we went through this morning, Coles reported a 5.7% increase in annual revenues to $43.6 billion. Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose by 7.3% to $2.18 billion, while underlying net profits after tax (NPAT) enjoyed a 4.1% boost to $1.21 billion.
That helped the supermarket operator to record an earnings per share (EPS) metric of 84.6 cents, a 1.2% lift over the 2023 financial year.
In turn, that allowed Coles to declare a final dividend of 32 cents per share for FY2024.
Coles dividend: Everything you need to know
This dividend will come with full franking credits attached, as is the norm for Coles' shareholder payments.
This is a notable payout for several reasons. Firstly, it represents a healthy 6.67% rise over Coles' final dividend of 30 cents per share in FY2022 and FY2023.
It also means that Coles' 12-month dividend total for FY2024, which also includes March's interim dividend of 36 cents per share, will come in at 68 cents per share. That's an income record over a 12-month period for the company and represents a dividend payout ratio of 80.38% of Coles' EPS.
But for investors who don't own Coles shares but might want to buy them to bag this dividend, time is short. That's because Coles has given investors just one week before the company trades ex-dividend to secure some shares. The ex-dividend date for this latest payment has been set for next Tuesday, 3 September.
So prospective investors will need to own Coles shares as of the market close on Monday 2 September if they wish to receive this payout. For eligible investors, payday will then roll around on 25 September, later next month.
Coles' dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) is operational for this dividend too. So if any shareholders wish to opt to receive additional Coles shares instead of a cash payment, they can nominate to do so by 5 September.
At the current Coles share price, this ASX 200 blue chip is trading on a dividend yield of 3.51%. With the value of this latest dividend factored in, the shares would trade on a forward yield of 3.61%.
