It's impossible to know from this dividend announcement whether...

It's impossible to know from this dividend announcement whether ASH's results are good or ordinary. All we can say for certain is they are not terrible, as they would have cut the dividend. ASH's dividend payout ratio has varied from 66% to more than 76% of EPS over the past 3 years. Assuming this range holds, a 3c dividend could mean anywhere from flat EPS to EPS growth of ~15%. What makes this year even more challenging to call is that they have taken on a reasonably sized debt funded acquisition, so they may want to get the debt down fast given rising interest rates and macro risks. Accordingly, they could have chosen to just keep the divvy flat and apply the rest to debt reduction. Either way its just speculation on my part. For what is worth, I'll stick with my previous forecast of c10% earnings growth until the results prove me otherwise.
More importantly, lets hope BHP and others continue their attack on the proposed regulatory changes. I also hope that ASH will provide their perspective on the issue at the FY results even if the situation is still not resolved.