More to your point, the FCF for the half that they report is $1.9b, so higher than NPAT which was $1.1b.
Dividends are more sustainable from a FCF perspective, because FCF is earning money on previous investments, they dont subtract Depreciation or Amortization in FCF because its just looking at the cash flows in this reporting period.
The dividends arent sustainable on underlying EPS, but they are on statutory EPS, because underlying EPS doesnt include the one off payments from NBNCo.
EDIT: Currently dividends are being paid for by NBNCo payments to Telstra.
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)