If you thought the ASX earnings season that we went through back in August was over, you wouldn't be quite right. Some ASX shares, for whatever reason, like to keep investors waiting on their latest numbers. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is one such share, with investors only finding out today what the latest NAB dividend will look like.
As we covered this morning, it wasn't the best earnings report for shareholders to get their hands on. The big four ASX bank stock revealed a 2.9% rise in revenues, but flat (well, down 0.2%) cash earnings of $7.09 billion. A rise in expenses resulted in a statutory net profit of $6.76 billion, down 2.9% year on year from FY2024.
It wasn't all bad news, though. The bank reported that its balance sheet remains strong, with customer deposits rising meaningfully over FY2025. At the end of the financial year, NAB had $658.4 billion in deposits on its books, up from $610 billion at the end of FY2024.
Even so, as my Fool colleague covered earlier today, these earnings were lower than what the market was expecting. That probably explains why the NAB share price is currently nursing a rather nasty 3.35% loss down to $43.04.
But let's talk about the latest NAB dividend.
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NAB dividend rises despite profit drop
In a slight reprieve to shareholders, NAB has announced that its next dividend, the final dividend for 2025, will come in at 85 cents per share. As is the bank's habit, this payout will come with full franking credits attached. This final dividend matches the interim payout of 85 cents that investors enjoyed back in July. It also matches the final dividend from 2024.
As that interim dividend of 85 cents was higher than the 84 cents that investors bagged last year, NAB's annual dividend will rise from $1.69 per share to $1.70 per share in 2025. That represents a 0.59% annual pay rise for investors.
Investors who don't yet own NAB shares (or wish to buy more) have until 10 November next week to buy if they wish to receive this latest dividend. NAB will then trade ex-dividend on 11 November.
Dividend payday will then roll around on 12 December, just in time for Christmas.
NAB is also offering its dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) for this payment. Any investor who wishes to receive additional NAB shares in lieu of the traditional cash payment can opt in to do so by the close of business on 13 November.
At the current share price, NAB is trading on a dividend yield of 3.95%.
