Don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm, but I read this as COF now have the capacity to pay franked dividends, not will be paying franked dividends. I work in a similar field to COF and can advise that the engineering services sector is all doom and gloom at the moment. So, I would not be at all surprised if the board seeks to further strengthen the balance sheet rather than pay a dividend….i would say its even odds.
On the upside, COF have a few key advantages over their competitors. Firstly, the international aid business is not overly exposed to the soft conditions here in Aus and should continue to provide stable cash flow. Secondly, COF have taken their medicine over the last few years and have restructured into a lower cost business model, with more conservative gearing.
COF Price at posting:
31.5¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held