When Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) announced its half-year results last Thursday, management pleased passive income investors with a 5.6% boost to the interim Telstra dividend.
But the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) telco didn't give investors hoping to cash in on the latest passive income payout much time to buy shares.
Here's what you need to know about the pending dividend.
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Want to tap into the Telstra dividend?
The Telstra share price closed up 5.6% on Thursday, 20 February, as ASX 200 investors reacted favourably to the telco's earnings results and management's announcement of an on-market share buyback of up to $750 million.
Highlights from the half year included a 6% year-on-year increase in underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to $4.25 billion.
And with after-tax profits of $1.1 billion, up 7.1% from the prior corresponding half-year, the fully franked Telstra dividend was boosted by 5.6% to 9.5 cents per share. That represents a 107% payout ratio on earnings per share (EPS) over the six months.
At the current Telstra share price of $4.18, this also represents a pending yield of 2.3% on the interim dividend alone.
Adding in the 9.0 cents per share final dividend paid out on 26 September, Telstra shares trade on a fully franked dividend yield (part trailing, part pending) of 4.4%.
But if you want to bank the latest passive income from the ASX 200 telco, you best hurry.
Telstra shares trade ex-dividend this Wednesday, 26 February. Meaning you'll need to own shares at market close on Tuesday to receive the payout. You can then expect to see that passive income hit your bank account on 28 March.
Or, if you prefer to reinvest those dividends to take advantage of the magic of compounding, Telstra's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) is active for this period.
What did management say?
Commenting on the boosted dividend last week, management noted:
On the back of earnings growth, the board resolved to pay a fully franked interim dividend of 9.5 cents per share, representing a 5.6% increase on the prior corresponding period. This outcome is consistent with our capital management framework principle to maximise the fully franked dividend and seek to grow it over time.
We also announced an on-market share buy-back of up to $750 million, which has been enabled by our fiscal discipline and the strength of our balance sheet. The buy-back supports earnings and dividend per share growth, and along with the increased interim dividend, demonstrates board and management confidence in our financial strength and outlook.
Telstra has a lengthy track record of delivering two fully franked dividends per year.
