S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) stock Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK) pleased passive income investors today with a big boost to its interim dividend.
Seek's broader half-year results (1H FY 2025) were somewhat mixed, however, but the Seek share price has recovered from earlier losses to currently be trading in the green.
Shares in the company, which owns and operates Australia's leading online job advertising website, are currently trading for $24.64 apiece, up 1.7%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.4% at this same time.
Here's what's happening with the boosted Seek dividend.
ASX 200 stock lifts passive income payout
The Seek share price is under some pressure today, with the ASX 200 stock reporting a 4% year on year decline in sales revenue to $536.2 million (from continuing operations). Revenue was impacted by a decline in job ad volumes across Seek's core markets.
Earnings also took a hit, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $223.9 million down 9% year on year.
Adjusted profit for the half year came in at $77.0 million, down 28%, while operating expenses remained in line with the prior corresponding period at $312.3 million. Total expenditure of $373.1 million was down 6% from 1H FY 2024, with management crediting efficiencies from its Platform Unification project.
And the ASX 200 stock was able to boost its interim dividend after achieving a 93% increase in free cash flow for the six months to $81.8 million.
The board declared a fully franked dividend of 24 cents per share, up 26.3% from last year's interim dividend. Eligible passive income investors can expect to get paid on 2 April.
What did management say?
Commenting on the half-year results for the ASX 200 stock, Seek CEO Ian Narev said:
Placement share in ANZ continued to grow, reaching its highest level since 2020. Product innovation and sales execution led to placement share gains that enabled us to regain the number one position in Singapore and the Philippines, and retain that position in our other Asia markets…
Revenue for the period was slightly lower due to market volumes; continuing yield growth offset much of the impact.
Addressing the increase in valuation of the SEEK Growth Fund and the Fund's partial sell-down of its Employment Hero stake, Narev added:
The Growth Fund continues to perform well with look-through revenue growth of 9% while the portfolio valuation increased 5%. The valuation achieved for the partial sell-down of the Employment Hero stake supported the increase in the overall valuation as well as our ability to reallocate capital to debt reduction.
What's next for the ASX 200 stock?
Looking to what could impact the Seek share price in the months ahead, the company provided the following FY 2025 guidance (excluding the Fund and significant items):
- Revenue of $1.06 billion to $1.10 billion
- Total expenditure of $750 million to $770 million
- EBITDA of $440 million to $470 million
- Adjusted profit of $135 million to $160 million
Shares in the ASX 200 stock are up 13% over the past six months but remain down 3% since this time last year.
