Ann: Dividend/Distribution - WDS, page-59

Yep, seems it's all about the price of oil.

Extract from AFR article posted at 3pm:

"The numbers flowing through Woodside’s capital management framework are big; in the year just gone, it had $US6.1 billion operating cash flow, spent $US5.6 billion on investment (mostly capex into projects and exploration) and paid $US1.1 billion in dividends. Gearing ended at 12.1 per cent, while net debt was $US4.7 billion.

Woodside is telling us that some of the cash demands should get a bit lighter – the year to December was a peak for capex and Australian tax payments, and was a big dividend year as it paid the hefty FY22 final dividend and the interim dividend to its now much-larger shareholder base.

If oil is at $US50 a barrel, the company will generate about $US20 billion cash in the coming five years, increasing to $US32 billion at $US70 a barrel. (Brent crude oil last traded at about $US82.)

For Woodside investors, the big thing is how it uses cash between growth projects and dividends in coming years. The market is still a bit split on whether this is a yield stock or growth, and there are different investors in there for different reasons."