It's coming up to an important time of year for owners of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares. The Soul Patts dividend will soon be allocated to shareholders.
Every six months, the business declares its half-year dividend and final dividend for each financial year.
Soul Patts is often seen as one of the most impressive ASX dividend shares because it has increased its annual ordinary dividend every year since 2000. That's 24 years of consecutive annual dividend increases, the longest-running dividend growth streak on the ASX.
The latest Soul Patts dividend was recently revealed.
Ex-dividend date is imminent
When the company announced its FY24 result, it announced a final dividend of 55 cents per share, which was a rise of 7.8% year over year. This brought the full-year dividend to 95 cents per share, representing an increase of 9.2% year over year.
That 55 cents per share dividend will be paid on 8 November 2024, but investors need to be aware of the ex-dividend date deadline. It's the cut-off date to own Soul Patts shares and be entitled to the upcoming payment. Investors need to own shares before the ex-dividend date; otherwise, they'll miss out on the passive income payment.
For the FY24 final dividend, the ex-dividend date is 15 October 2024, which is next Tuesday. That means investors need to own Soul Patts shares by the end of trading on Monday.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson is also now offering investors the opportunity to participate in the dividend reinvestment plan (DRP), where they can elect to receive new Soul Patts shares rather than take the dividend as cash.
How did it fund this larger payout?
Soul Patts has a few key objectives, including increasing its cash flow generation and growing the value of its portfolio. The cash flow funds the dividend payments.
In FY24, its net cash flow from investments increased 10.3% to $468 million, driven by increased cash generation from its private equity, emerging companies and credit portfolios. With the cash flow rising 10.3%, I think the annual dividend increase of 9.2% was a sustainable choice.
Soul Patts also reported that its portfolio grew by 8.7% to a net asset value (NAV) of $11.8 billion, with "strong performance across all portfolios". When adding in the dividend payments, Soul Patts' total return was 12% in FY24.
The investment business continues to invest and grow its portfolio. During FY24, it invested $2.8 billion in "high quality resilient and growing businesses." The company said it has continued to align the portfolio more closely with its long-term strategic and investment objectives.
Soul Patts share price snapshot
As shown on the chart below, the Washington H. Soul Pattinson share price has risen more than 60% over the past five years.
