S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium shares have offered investors some very strong returns amid soaring prices for the battery-critical metal.

Yet while longer-term investors should be sitting on some healthy gains, not all of the blue-chip lithium stocks pay a dividend.

In fact, if you’d asked me yesterday, I would have said that only two of the five ASX 200 lithium shares currently offer investors a dividend payout.

But that figure jumped to three out of the five this morning, when Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) reported stellar half-year results and announced its maiden dividend.

As of now, neither Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) or Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) shares offer dividend yields.

Which brings us to…

Which ASX 200 lithium share pays the highest dividend yield?

IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) reported its half-year results on 31 January.

The ASX 200 lithium share reported record half-year net profit after tax (NPAT) of $591 million, up 550% from the $91 million reported in H1 FY22.

This saw the IGO board declare a record interim dividend of 14 cents per share, fully franked.

That brings IGO’s full-year dividend payouts to 19 cents per share for a trailing yield of 1.4%.

Next up we have Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN).

Mineral Resources reported its half-year results this morning.

With the six-month NPAT up 1,890% year on year to $390 million, the Mineral Resources board offered up a boosted, fully franked interim dividend of $1.20 per share.

That brings the Mineral Resources full-year dividend payout to $2.20 per share for a trailing yield of 2.6%.

Finally, we have Pilbara Minerals.

As mentioned up top, Pilbara Minerals’ board declared the first-ever dividend payout for the ASX 200 lithium share.

With NPAT for the six months soaring to $1.24 billion, up 989% from H1 FY22, Pilbara Minerals will pay an 11 cents per share, fully franked interim dividend.

At the current share price, that represents a trailing yield of 2.4%.

So the winner is…

With a 2.6% trailing dividend yield, Mineral Resources edges out Pilbara Minerals as the ASX 200 lithium share with the highest current yield.

Mineral Resources also leads the pack in share price gains, with its shares up 92% since this time last year.

The post Which ASX 200 lithium share takes the crown for dividend yield right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Silver lining: Mineral Resources shares to pay interim dividend
• Everything you need to know about the inaugural Pilbara Minerals dividend
• Allkem share price in the green as ASX 200 lithium stock posts record revenue
• Mineral Resources share price drops despite incredible earnings growth
• Pilbara Minerals share price on watch amid 989% profit surge

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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