Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares are moving higher on Thursday after the mining company released its FY26 results.
At the time of writing, the Mineral Resources share price is up 2.62% to $68.64.
There was plenty for investors to unpack, with revenue, earnings and free cash flow all moving higher during the year.
But one part of the result seems to have caught investors by surprise.
After going without a dividend in FY25, Mineral Resources is bringing it back, and the payment is much bigger than the market had expected.
So, how much will shareholders receive?
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Mineral Resources brings back its dividend
Mineral Resources has declared a fully-franked final dividend of 83 cents per share.
This represents a 20% payout of underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) and marks the company's first dividend since FY24.
The payment itself was also a lot bigger than the market had expected.
According to RBC Capital Markets, consensus estimates were sitting at just 7 cents per share heading into the result. Analyst James Redfern described the 83-cent payment as a "very positive surprise".
At the current Mineral Resources share price of $68.64, the dividend represents a yield of around 1.2% before franking credits.
When will shareholders get paid?
Mineral Resources shares are scheduled to trade ex-dividend on 8 September, with the record date falling on 9 September.
The company will then pay the dividend on 30 September.
The payment is fully franked, giving eligible shareholders the added benefit of attached franking credits.
Mineral Resources is also operating its dividend reinvestment plan (DRP), with eligible shareholders able to receive new shares instead of taking the payment in cash.
Why is the dividend back?
The return of the dividend follows a pretty big improvement in the company's finances during FY26.
Revenue jumped 44% to a record $6.5 billion, while underlying EBITDA surged 183% to $2.6 billion.
Underlying NPAT came in at $822 million, compared with a $112 million loss a year earlier.
The company also returned to profit after a difficult FY25, helped by stronger operating performance across the business.
Cash flow was another positive from the result. Mineral Resources generated $849 million in free cash flow, while liquidity more than doubled to $2.4 billion.
Net debt also fell by around $1.1 billion to $4.3 billion, bringing its net debt to underlying EBITDA ratio down from 5.9 times to 1.7 times.
What's next?
While there were some big numbers in the FY26 result, the return of the dividend is likely to stand out for shareholders who went without one last year.
Management is also expecting volumes to grow across its mining services business, as well as iron ore and lithium commodities in FY27.
If that growth comes through and debt keeps falling, the company could be in a stronger position to keep rewarding shareholders with dividends.
