2328 GMT - Mining company South32's interim dividend could disappoint investors, reckons Macquarie. While South32 is likely to maintain its payout ratio at 40% of underlying earnings, the issue is that 1H profits will be thinner than the market expects, Macquarie says. It tips South32 to declare an interim dividend of 2.3 U.S. cents per share, representing a 27% miss to consensus forecasts. "However, given the materiality of the expected FY 2025 yield (1% annualized), we expect the focus at the results to be on free cash flow," Macquarie says. South32 is due to report its 1H result on Thursday. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 10, 2025 18:28 ET (23:28 GMT)

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