From an entire cash perspective the business is using more debt to pay borrowings, fund growth and pay a dividend.
@AF01
I have to disagree: since the dividend is paid out of Free Cash Flow (which, as you will know, is defined as Operating Cash Flow minus Sustaining Capex), the business is using the
same amount of debt (rolling it, when necessary) to pay for borrowings (interest expense) and distributions.
It is only the “growth” component, i.e. new concessions, that is funded with a mix of new debt and equity. But, because of the nature of these concessions, any addition to the existing portfolio is Revenue and Free Cash Flow additive with a high degree of predictability, several decades into the future.
Therefore, as long as the price paid for each new concession is sensible (and so far it has always been the case), that does not make future dividends any riskier.
Does this address your concern?
(20min delay)