What did BSP Financial Group report?

• BSP does not anticipate a material impact on its 2025 financial results following recent government decisions.
• The bank remains well-capitalised with a strong financial base and diversified operations across Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.
• BSP continues to deliver attractive shareholder returns and serves over 2 million customers.
• Existing arrangements for servicing and maintaining government accounts will continue, as confirmed by both the PNG Government and management.

What else do investors need to know?

Prime Minister James Marape reaffirmed Papua New Guinea's commitment to a strong, competitive banking sector, assuring the market that BSP will continue to manage government accounts and that recent decisions should not be seen as moves against commercial banks like BSP.

The planned reintroduction of the National Banking Corporation aims to expand access to banking—particularly in rural, unbanked communities—but is intended to complement, not compete with, existing banks such as BSP.

While the PNGX and ASX recently saw some share price movements, the government considers these temporary and not a reflection of BSP's solid fundamentals.

What did BSP Financial Group management say?

Commenting on the development, BSP Group Chief Executive Officer Mark Robinson said:

We thank the Prime Minister for his assurance that BSP will continue to service and maintain government accounts, and there will be no drastic shifts in the existing arrangements. We appreciate the Prime Minister's recognition of BSP as a trusted partner in the nation's economic development.

What's next for BSP Financial Group?

BSP remains focused on engaging with the PNG Government, regulators, and other stakeholders to promote financial stability, economic growth, and inclusion. The staged implementation of policy changes is expected to ensure stability without any adverse impact on banks.

Management has indicated it does not anticipate any material change in its 2025 financial results, meaning BSP's strategic focus will remain on serving customers and maintaining its leadership in the Pacific region.

BSP Financial Group share price snapshot

The BSP Financial Group share price is down 13% for the year to date. This is ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 9% for the year to date.

View Original Announcement

The post BSP Financial Group reassures investors after PNG Government update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Meantime, several companies are celebrating multi-year-high share prices on Friday.

Let's check them out.

ASX shares lifting to new price highs on Friday

Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG)

This ASX 300 communications share has shot the lights out today, rising 49.7% to a 3-year high of $4.67.

Investors are in a lather after Domain announced it had received a $2.7 billion takeover offer from CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) for $4.20 cash per share.

Domain's board is assessing the proposal.

Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX)

This ASX 200 healthcare share leapt 15.3% to a new all-time high of $30.50 today.

The biopharmaceutical company released its FY24 full-year results after yesterday's close.

Telix revealed a 56% increase in revenue to $783.2 million and a magnificent 860% increase in net profit after tax (NPAT) to $49.9 million.

In the year ahead, management is guiding revenue of between $1.18 billion to $1.23 billion. This would represent an increase of between 51% and 57%, respectively.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

This ASX 200 financial share soared 8.9% to a 15-year high of $21.85 per share on Friday.

The multi-year high follows the release of the insurer's full-year FY24 results today.

QBE reported a 31.3% year-over-year increase in statutory NPAT to US$1.78 billion.

This was primarily due to a 3% growth in gross written premiums and a combined operating ratio of 93.1%.

QBE shares will pay a final dividend of 63 cents per share, which is 31% higher than last year.

A2 Milk Company Limited (ASX: A2M)

This ASX 200 consumer staple share hit a new 52-week high of $7.65 on Friday.

A2 Milk shares have had a great week, rising by 28% since Monday when the company revealed its 1H FY25 results and announced its maiden dividend.

BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL)

Stock in the South-Pacific financial services provider lifted 5.3% to a record high of $8 today.

This ASX All Ords financial share has been heading higher since the company released its full-year FY24 results on Wednesday.

BSP Financial reported a statutory NPAT of K$1.038 billion (A$408m) for FY24, up 17% year-over-year. BSP Financial shares will pay a final dividend of $K1.21 (AU 47 cents) per share.

Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS)

ASX 200 gold share Ramelius Resources lifted 3% to hit a new record high of $2.71 on Friday.

The miner released its 1H FY25 results today. The company revealed a record NPAT of $170.4 million, up 313% year over year.

Ramelius also announced a maiden fully franked interim dividend of 3 cents per share.

Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)

Corporate Travel Management shares rose by 3.1% to a 52-week high of $17.86.

The ASX 200 travel share has been on an upward trajectory since the company released its 1H FY25 results and profit guidance on Wednesday.

Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB)

This ASX 300 industrials stock ripped 17.1% higher to a five-year peak of $4.18 per share.

This followed the defence and commercial shipbuilder releasing its 1H FY25 report today.

Austal revealed a 108.9% increase in NPAT to $25.1 million and a substantial improvement in its net cash position, lifting from $3.9 million on 30 June to $212.6 million on 31 December.

The post ASX shares lifting to 52-week highs on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

You can start with as little as $5,000.

Let's take a look at a couple of ASX dividend shares that could help with this mission and see how hypothetically you could arrive in the promised land:

The land of plenty

Australia is blessed to host many quality income stocks because of its favourable tax rules.

Two that experts seem to like at the moment are BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL) and Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC).

The former is Papua New Guinea's largest bank, which has paid back its investors handsomely in recent years.

IG Australia market analyst Hebe Chen is bullish on the financial stock.

"BSP Financial's gross dividend yield was 9.75% in the past financial year, with its stock price jumping 32% from early last year and 51% over the past two years."

Meanwhile Whitehaven Coal is cashing in on the energy anxiety much of the developed world is feeling due to conflicts in the Middle East and a ban on Russian gas and oil.

The stock is paying out a sensational fully franked dividend yield of 10.6%.

Whitehaven shares have dived this month due to an unfavourable reporting season, but they have remained resilient over the past year while other energy stocks have suffered from high volatility.

Second income now or later?

Going back to the $5,000, if you are impatient you could extract passive income immediately from the above dividend stocks.

If you split that money evenly between the two stocks, you could buy around 710 shares.

For ease of calculation, if we say BSP Financial and Whitehaven Coal average out to 10% yield, that's $500 coming into your bank account each year.

That's pretty handy cash for just a $5,000 investment.

But if you can afford to wait a tad longer, you could try to secure a much more significant second income.

Check this out.

If you can maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%, which is simply the current dividend yield without even taking any capital growth into account, let the investment grow for 10 years.

Moreover, keep saving and add $400 to the portfolio each month.

You will then find your shares are worth $89,468 by the end of that decade.

If you then start pocketing the annual returns, you have $8,947 in your bank account each year.

Does that sound much better?

That's a nice overseas holiday each year, or paying for the kids' education expenses.

Or in monthly terms, it's $745 of second income, which is almost double the amount you had been saving.

The post $5k to invest buys me 700 shares in these 2 ASX stocks for a second income! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's some pretty handy passive income.

However, investors do need to do their research and be careful about stock selection.

IG Australia market analyst Hebe Chen warned that a high dividend yield doesn't automatically make a stock a worthy investment.

"A 'yield trap' to avoid is parking your money in a stock that offers a seemingly attractive yield despite having weak financial fundamentals, which can erode the total value of your capital," Chen told The Motley Fool.

"When a company either increases its dividend beyond the norm or experiences a rapid decline in share price, it can create the illusion of a high yield."

Keeping this in mind, Chen named three dividend stocks on the ASX that she would be tempted to buy at the moment:

The geese laying golden dividends

Helia Group Ltd (ASX: HLI) is a finance company that provides lenders' mortgage insurance.

The business has been going well, with the half-year ending last June showing a 32% improvement in the underlying net profit after tax (NPAT).

And it shows in the stock performance.

"Helia offers a 16% gross dividend yield, while its stock prices have delivered a 72% one-year return and a remarkable 223% three-year return," said Chen.

Helia's 2023 full-year results will be revealed on 27 February.

Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) has been making hay with the global iron ore price surprisingly buoyant over the past year.

"Fortescue offers an 8.91% gross dividend yield, with its stock prices recently reaching an all-time high," Chen said.

"FMG's share price [has] increased by 27% in the past 52 weeks and an astonishing 600% since 2019."

BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL) is a name rarely discussed, but it is a $3 billion player on the ASX.

The business is, in fact, the largest bank in Papua New Guinea, and the dividend stock has been very rewarding to its investors in recent times.

"BSP Financial's gross dividend yield was 9.75% in the past financial year, with its stock price jumping 32% from early last year and 51% over the past two years."

Chen reminded investors that harvesting high dividends is "a balancing act". 

"For investors seeking sustainable passive income and a stress-free investment journey, it's crucial not only to check the dividend yield but also to consider the stock's past performance as the essential criteria."

The post 16% gross yield: The 3 hottest high-dividend ASX stocks to buy right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In fact, some ASX All Ords shares are offering yields more than triple that. But that doesn't mean they will turn out to be screaming buys today though.

If you think a 6% yield is attractive, then no doubt the Horizon Oil Ltd (ASX: HZN) share price will draw your eye. Right now, this small ASX All Ords oil share offers a trailing dividend yield of 14.4%. And that's after the 6% or so jump we have seen with this company's shares this Monday.

But that's just the start.

What are the highest-yielding ASX All Ords shares offering today?

We also have Abacus Group (ASX: ABG) to look at. Abacus shares offer investors a dividend yield of 16.88% right now.

There's the BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL) share price to consider as well. At present, BSP shares have a dividend yield of 18.1% on the table.

That's topped by coal share Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL). Today, Yancoal shares are displaying a dividend yield of 21.62%. That's almost mirrored by the Base Resources Ltd (ASX: BSE) share price, with its yield of 22.7%.

It gets even better.

Sunland Group Ltd (ASX: SDG) shares are exhibiting a dividend yield of 32.98% at present. And not to be outdone, Terracom Ltd (ASX: TER) shares are at the top of the ASX All Ords pile right now when it comes to dividend yield, displaying a frankly ridiculous yield of 44.49% today.

I'm sure that was a lot to take in. The prospect of receiving a cash yield of 44.49% on your money every year is a salivating prospect to be sure.

But, as I'm sure you're sensing, there are a lot of caveats here to discuss.

When is a dividend too good to be true?

A company's dividend yield reflects the past, not the future. No ASX All Ords share is under any kind of obligation to continue one year's dividend the next. It could double it, halve it or eliminate it altogether. A company's dividends from year to year are entirely at the discretion of its management.

Let's look at Terracom's dividend as an example. The first thing to note is that Terracom's monstrous 44.49% dividend yield is no mistake. Over the past 12 months, the ASX coal share has paid out two dividends, worth 3 cents and 7.5 cents per share respectively. That total of 10.5 cents per share gives Terracom a trailing dividend yield of 44.49% at the current share price of 47 cents.

However, a company's dividend yield is just as dependent on its share price as its raw dividends per share. And a large contributor to this massive dividend yield is the Terracom share price's near 55% loss over the past 12 months. The lower an ASX All Ord's share price, the higher its trailing dividend yield will be.

ASX resources and energy shares in particular have nororiously volatile dividends. That's because their ability to fund their dividends is entirely dependent on external factors – namely the prices of the commodities they sell.

It's clear that investors are expecting coal prices to come down significantly from the record highs we have seen over the past two years. That's why Terracom joins Yancoal in having both high trailing dividend yields, and huge share price losses over the past 12 months.

Foolish takeaway

If you sift through the shares listed above, you'll probably find the good reason why the markets are pricing these companies at low levels right now, which is helping to push their dividend yields to the rather implausible levels we are seeing. It's a good indication that most investors aren't expecting the recent dividends we have seen with these companies to continue for much longer.

Now, it's entirely possible that the markets are getting at least one of these companies' prospects wrong, and that investors will continue to enjoy huge income from any of these shares.

But investors have to ask themselves what they know that the market doesn't. There's a high chance that buying into these shares right now is nothing more than a dividend trap.

The post Where can investors find the highest dividend yields among ASX All Ords shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's the opinion of top broker Morgan Stanley, which says: "The next several years are likely to be marked by lower equity returns and higher volatility, which could lead dividends to account for a greater portion of total stock market return".

Australian fundie Michael O'Neill of Investors Mutual takes it a step further. He reckons capital growth will likely be lower over the next decade, and in his view that makes dividends "critical".

As my Fool colleague Seb recently pointed out, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has had extremely little growth since COVID hit us three years ago. Dividends have been the only real form of returns.

With all of this in mind, let's consider which ASX 200 shares are offering the best dividend yields today.

In this article, we're going to look at ASX 200 mid-cap shares. These stocks have a market capitalisation of between $2 billion and $10 billion.

Best dividend yields among the ASX 200 mid-caps

According to data provided by TradingView, the ASX 200 mid-cap shares offering the best trailing dividend yields today include ASX coal shares, financial shares, energy shares, and retail shares.

They are:

What are trailing dividend yields?

Trailing dividend yields are calculated by taking the most recent total annual dividend amount paid by a company and dividing it by today's share price.

Hence, trailing dividends reflect the previous year's income. This is especially important to remember when considering mining stocks for investment.

Commodity prices fell in FY23, and as we recently reported, the federal government expects most commodity prices to keep declining in FY24 and FY25.

In addition, some of the stocks above, such as New Hope shares, paid special dividends in FY23.

Do you prefer ASX 200 large caps?

If you tend to be a highly conservative investor, you may prefer to invest in large-cap shares.

So, check out our article on which ASX 200 large-cap shares offer the best dividend yields.

Large-cap shares have a market capitalisation of more than $10 billion.

The post Which ASX 200 mid-cap shares offer the best dividend yields? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The relationship between the dividends per share that a company pays and the price that a company's shares trade at produces the metric we know as the dividend yield.

Most ASX shares offer investors dividends yields of between 3 and 6%. But some go higher than that. In fact, the ASX houses many shares that currently have a trailing yield of above 10%. Here are a dozen such shares:

So are these ASX dividend shares all screaming buys? Can investors really expect to get at least 10 cents on every dollar invested back every year by investing in these companies?

When is a 10% yielding ASX divided share a trap?

Well, not so fast. As a rule, income investors should be very careful when dealing with an ASX dividend share offering a yield of 10% or higher. As we went through earlier, the dividend yield is a function of a company's share price, as well as its raw dividends per share. Thus, if the market is pricing a dividend share with a high yield, it is usually for a reason.

Looking at this list, we can see it is dominated by ASX energy shares. Terracom, Yancoal, Whitehaven, and New Hope are all ASX coal miners, and Woodside is an oil share. These companies' earnings (and thus dividends) are notoriously cyclical and depend almost entirely on the coal and oil prices at the time.

Recently, high energy prices have turbocharged these companies' profitability. But investors know that energy pricing booms don't last forever, and neither do the dividends that are funded by them. So that's probably why these companies are seemingly offering such large dividend yields right now.

It's not just ASX energy shares either

The other ASX dividend shares listed here also have their own problems. Magellan is a fund manager that has dramatically fallen from grace over the past few years. I would wager that it would be hard to find any serious investor who expects this company to pay out the same $1.16 in dividends per share over the next year as it did the last.

As such, you should always take an ASX dividend share offering a yield of 10% or higher as nothing more than an invitation to dig a little deeper.

It is entirely possible to find a 10%-er that will indeed prove to be a solid and reliable income stock to invest in. But more often than not, these types of income shares turn out to be dreaded dividend traps — luring investors in with a seemingly high yield, only to cut it down the road.

So choose your high-yielding dividends wisely. This is a dangerous field to be digging in for income.

The post 12 ASX dividend shares with yields over 10%. Are they too good to be true? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

BHP shares have already past their ex-dividend date, so these dividends are no longer on the table.

But there are other companies in the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) that are yet to turn ex-dividend.

In particular, two ASX All Ords shares will be going ex-dividend on Friday. Since the ASX is closed tomorrow, today will be the final day to pick up the latest dividends from these ASX All Ords shares.

Both of these ASX All Ords shares are flashing sizeable trailing dividend yields. So, don't be surprised to see their share prices in the red on Friday as the value of their respective dividends leaves their share prices.

Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS)

First up, consumer finance business Latitude will be trading on Friday without a fully franked interim dividend of 7.85 cents per share.

Investors on the company's share registry when the market closes today should receive this payment on 26 October.

Alternatively, shareholders have the option to forgo this cash payment in favour of participating in the company's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP). Those who wish to participate must elect to do so by 27 September.

The market doesn't appear pleased with Latitude's first-half 2022 results, with shares down 9% in the last month.

Volumes came in at $3.7 billion, up 2% from the prior corresponding period (pcp) of 1H21, led by the personal and auto loans divisions.

Risk-adjusted income fell by 70 basis points from the pcp to 9.46%, weighed down by lower product pricing and higher funding costs. 

Given that Latitude makes the bulk of its revenue from interest on its products, other challenges during the half included excess consumer savings and elevated repayment rates.

Overall, the company's cash net profit after tax (NPAT) dropped by 11% on the pcp to $93 million. On a statutory basis, which includes non-cash items such as amortisation and impairments, NPAT tumbled 66% to $31 million.

Despite the reduction in profits, Latitude held its interim dividend steady at 7.85 cents. This is in line with the company's last two (and only) dividend payments since listing in mid-2021.

This means that Latitude shares are currently spinning up a sizeable trailing dividend yield of 11.5%. Including franking credits, this yield cranks up to 16.4%.

However, broker Macquarie believes Latitude could slash its dividends in the future, forecasting FY23 dividends of 8 cents per share. Based on current prices, this equates to a prospective forward dividend yield of 5.8%.

BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL)

Also going ex-dividend on Friday is BSP Financial, the leading bank in the South Pacific.

Like Latitude, BSP recently released its first-half 2022 results. The group cut its unfranked interim dividend by 13% to 34 Papua New Guinean Kina (K).

ASX investors will receive this dividend in Aussie dollars on 14 October. 

The exchange rate will be finalised next week. But based on current spot prices, this dividend could land at around 14 Australian cents. 

Economic conditions in BSP's markets improved in 1H22, leading to a 13% lift in net operating income to K1,144 million. More specifically, this was driven by increased lending activities in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and higher transactional volumes now that borders have re-opened.

On the bottom line, BSP delivered 30% growth in underlying NPAT, which reached K586 million. However, the company was slugged with an additional company tax of K190 million as part of new legislation that came into effect earlier this year. 

BSP has filed an application to the Supreme Court to declare the additional company tax unconstitutional and invalid.

Circling back to dividends, we'll have to wait for the confirmed exchange rate next week. But BSP Financial shares could be trading on a trailing 12-month dividend yield of around 13% at current levels.  

That said, between fluctuating exchange rates, foreign operations, and a different regulatory environment, BSP shares could be more complicated than your ordinary ASX investment.

The post 2 high-yielding ASX All Ords shares trading ex-dividend on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It made for the second consecutive session of losses for the local market following weak trade on Wall Street overnight.

The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) lead the ASX 200's downturn, falling 2.1% despite news that Brookfield appears to have snapped up a 2.5% stake in AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL).

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) suffered amid lower oil prices, which fell between 1.5% and 1.8% overnight.

Iron ore futures also slipped again, falling 0.1% to trade at US$130.11 a tonne.

But not all was dire today. The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) lifted 0.2%.

And there were plenty of gainers among the mix.

Let's take a look at which ASX shares outperformed all others on Thursday.

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

ASX industrials share APM Human Services International Ltd (ASX: APM) bested the rest today, taking out the top spot among the ASX's 200 biggest companies by market capitalisation. It gained 4.3% today. Read up on APM here.

Next best was financials stock BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL). It lifted nearly 4% on Thursday. Find out more about BSP Financial Group here.

Today's top 10 biggest gains were made by these ASX shares:

Data as at 3:59pm AEST

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As most market watchers will be aware, shareholders who buy into a company after its ex-dividend date aren't eligible for its upcoming dividend. Instead, the next dividend will go to the seller of any shares traded from today onwards.

So, which ASX shares might struggle as they surpass that milestone today? Let's take a look.

ASX shares trading ex-dividend today

Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG)

Financial year 2021 (FY21) was productive for Sigma. The company increased its revenue by 5.5% and upped its underlying net profit after tax by 23.7% compared to FY20.

As a result, the pharmaceutical wholesaler, distributor, and pharmacy franchisor is giving its shareholders a 1 cent fully franked dividend. That leaves Sigma with a dividend yield of around 1.59%.

The company's upcoming dividend is payable on 8 October.

The Sigma share price has fallen 1.64% to trade at 60 cents at the time of writing.

However, that's not the only news that could be moving the sigma share price today. The company has announced a new CEO will be taking the reins in February 2022.

Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX)

Atlas posted incredible results for FY21, which included an 845% increase to its net profit after tax (excluding notable items) compared to that of FY20.

As a result, the toll road operator provided a 15.5 cent unfranked dividend to its shareholders, giving it an impressive 3.61% dividend yield.

The company's dividend will be paid on 5 October.

So far today, the Atlas share price has fallen 3.48% on the back of its ex-dividend date. It is currently trading at $6.65.

BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL)

Weathering what could have been an ex-dividend-induced storm is the BSP Financial share price, which hasn't moved at all today.

BSP Financial is set to provide its shareholders with a 1.5 cent dividend (converted from Papua New Guinean Kina at the current exchange rate of AUD$1 to PGK2.56).

The dividend follows from the company's productive FY21, over which it increased its net profit after tax by 17.6% on that of FY20.

It will be paid on 18 October.

The post These 3 ASX shares are going ex-dividend today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.