Owners of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares can rejoice because another dividend hike has just occurred with the FY24 result.
There are not many businesses on the ASX that have grown their payment for at least 10 years in a row.
Following the release of the company's FY24 report, Soul Patts has grown its annual ordinary dividend every year since 2000.
There are many things to learn about this dividend, so let's dive into the details.
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Upcoming Soul Patts dividend
The company's board of directors declared an FY24 final dividend of 55 cents per share, which represented a year-over-year increase of 7.8% (or 4 cents per share).
This brought the full-year ordinary dividend to 95 cents per share, representing a 9.2% year-over-year increase.
Soul Patts announced that the ex-dividend date for this payment is 15 October 2024. Investors must own shares before this date to be entitled to the upcoming dividend.
The payment date for the 55 cents per share payout is 8 November 2024.
Soul Patts is now offering a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP), under which investors can receive new Soul Patts shares rather than cash. The DRP election date cut-off is 17 October 2024 at 5 pm.
Payout funding
Companies pay for their dividends by generating profit. Soul Patts decides on its dividend payments based on how much cash flow it makes.
Soul Patts reported that its net cash flow from investments increased by 10.3% year over year to $468 million, which helped justify the 9.2% increase in the annual dividend payout.
The company reported that its total dividends as a percentage of net cash flow from investments were 73.9%. The retained amount can be used to make new investments and help fund further dividend growth in the coming years.
Commenting on its 24 years of consecutive dividend growth, the Soul Patts leadership team said:
Our strategy of long-term commitment to building value, strength of conviction when making investment decisions, and unconstrained mandate to invest where we can extract the highest quality returns, continues to deliver for our shareholders.
…As a diversified investment house, our aim is to grow shareholder wealth. We are proud to have never missed a dividend payment to shareholders since listing in 1903, and this financial year is now different.
…We are proud to continue our exceptional track record as the only company in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) to pay increasing ordinary dividends every year since 2000, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6%.
Soul Patts share price snapshot
As shown on the chart below, Soul Patts shares have risen by 4% since the start of 2024.
