Investors have learned today what the PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS) dividend will be following the release of the FY26 result.
The dividends have been restarted after a weak period for the lithium price. A 121% jump of the realised (sold) price to US$1,488 per tonne helped revenue climb 152% to $1.9 billion and net profit after tax (NPAT) rose 369% to $528 million.
There won't be many ASX shares with a market capitalisation of more than $10 million that deliver that level of growth during this reporting season.
During the year, and thanks to improving lithium prices and market confidence, the ASX lithium share changed from defensive positioning to growth-focused. This led the business to restart the Ngungaju processing plant and update the study timelines for the P2000 and Colina projects.
The company also noted that the P2000 and Colina project feasibility studies have progressed and the P2000 pre-FID investment of approximately $175 million capital expenditure was approved in June.
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PLS dividend announced
The PLS Group board of directors declared a fully franked final dividend of 5 cents per share. This represents a total payment of approximately $161 million to shareholders.
PLS Group said the declared amount is in line with its capital management framework and dividend policy.
The dividend represents a dividend payout ratio of 22% of FY26 adjusted free cash flow. The ASX lithium share noted that adjusted free cash flow is statutory operating cash flow minus tax paid and tax payable, minus sustaining capital (including capitalised waste mine development) and excludes customer prepayments.
When will this be paid?
Before we get to the payment date, we need to look at the ex-dividend date.
The ex-dividend date is the cutoff for entitlement to the upcoming dividend. PLS Group announced that its ex-dividend date is Wednesday, 2 September 2026. Therefore, the last day that investors can invest and gain entitlement to the payout is 1 September 2026 – just over a week away.
Following that, owners of PLS shares will receive the payment into their bank accounts on 24 September 2026.
At the pre-open price, the FY26 dividend represents a dividend yield of 1% excluding franking credits and 1.4% including franking credits. That's not exactly a huge dividend yield, but the company is deliberately holding onto its cash so it can invest in its growth projects like Colina and P2000.
The company's capital expenditure is expected to more than double to between $620 million to $685 million for FY27 as the business invests for growth.
