Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares are rising on Tuesday.
Investors have been bidding the energy giant's shares higher after it released its FY 2025 results.
As with every Woodside results release, income investors are paying close attention to its latest dividend announcement.
Let's break down exactly what was declared and how it compares to last year.
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What dividend has Woodside declared?
According to the release, the Woodside board has declared a fully franked final dividend of 59 US cents per share. This brings the total fully franked dividend for FY 2025 to 112 US cents per share.
The total value of the full-year dividend is US$2.1 billion and represents an 80% payout ratio, which is right at the top end of Woodside's stated dividend policy range of 50% to 80% of underlying net profit after tax.
While the final dividend is up 11% on last year's final dividend of 53 US cents per share, the full-year total of 112 US cents per share is still down 8% compared to FY 2024's dividend of 122 US cents per share.
Eligible shareholders can look forward to receiving this dividend on 27 March. Woodside shares will trade ex-dividend for it on 5 March.
How did the results support the dividend?
For FY 2025, Woodside reported operating revenue of US$12.98 billion (down 1%), EBITDA of US$9.28 billion, underlying NPAT of US$2.65 billion (down 8%), and free cash flow of US$1.89 billion.
This was underpinned by record production of 198.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), which helped offset lower realised commodity prices during the year. Unit production costs fell 4% to US$7.8 per barrel of oil equivalent, demonstrating ongoing cost discipline.
Despite its softer earnings, Woodside maintained its commitment to returning cash to shareholders while continuing to invest heavily in growth projects such as Scarborough, Trion, and Louisiana LNG.
Commenting on its payouts, Woodside's acting CEO, Liz Westcott, said:
The strength of our base business has delivered returns for shareholders, with Woodside having returned approximately $11 billion in dividends since merger completion in 2022. At the same time, we are reinvesting in the business and actively refining the portfolio, while maintaining a strong balance sheet and gearing within the targeted range.
What does this mean for the Woodside dividend yield?
At current exchange rates, the FY 2025 dividend of 112 US cents per share equates to approximately A$1.59 per share.
Based on the current Woodside share price of $27.28, this implies a generous dividend yield of approximately 5.8%.
