It’s always an interesting insight into the health of the ASX when earnings season arrives. Of course, everyone likes to look at revenues, profits and the countless other metrics that companies present. But my favourite thing to analyse in an ASX 200 share’s earnings report is the dividend section.

In my view, there is no litmus test of a company’s financial health quite like a dividend. Companies that are in financial strife simply cannot afford to increase their payouts consistently over time. And that can be fudged by accounting tricks. Today let’s go over three ASX dividend shares that aren’t in that boat, and have just revealed pay rises for their investors.

3 ASX 200 dividend shares that just boosted shareholder income

First up, we have Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW). Woolworths is a blue chip ASX 200 dividend share that has always been given a look from the typical ASX income investor. The view this year was a good one. Woolworths announced this morning that its shareholders can look forward to a final dividend of 52 cents per share, fully franked.

This new dividend is worth a 15.56% increase over the final dividend of 45 cents per share that investors banked in 2025. Woolworths is currently (at the time of writing) trading on a trailing dividend yield of 2.23%.

Next, let’s talk about gold miner Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU). Perseus’ earnings were exceptionally well-received this morning. The company posted big rises in revenues, profits and cash flow, thanks to the marked increase in gold prices over FY2026. That filtered down into this ASX 200 dividend share’s next payout.

Perseus revealed a final dividend of 9 cents per share for 2026, unfranked. That’s a whopping 80% increase over the final dividend of 5 cents per share from 2025. At current pricing, Perseus Mining stock has a dividend yield of 1.04%.

Finally, we can’t not mention WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC). WiseTech shares are in freefall today after the ASX 200 tech share reported its own earnings. You can read more about that here. Despite this, there were plenty of green numbers in the company’s report. Those included a 79% rise in revenues and a 56% surge in underlying earnings.

That helped Wisetech declare a final, fully franked dividend worth 88 US cents per share. That’s up a healthy 14.29% from the 77 US cents per share investors bagged in 2025. Right now, the Wisetech share price has a dividend yield of 0.51%.

The post 3 ASX 200 dividend shares that just hiked their payouts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• South32, Woolworths, BHP shares reach 52-week high: Buy, sell or hold?
• Why I’d buy the dip on DroneShield and WiseTech shares
• Everything you need to know about the Woolworths dividend
• Why Woolworths, Domino’s and DroneShield shares are turning heads on Wednesday
• Why are WiseTech shares crashing 8.5% today?

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

The AIC Mines Ltd (ASX: A1M) share price is in focus after the company delivered a strong set of FY26 results, with revenue rising 29% to $245.2 million and net profit after tax surging 177% to $41.5 million.

What did AIC Mines report?

• Sales revenue: $245.2 million, up 29% from FY25
• EBITDA: $108.1 million, up 71% from FY25
• Net profit after tax: $41.5 million, up 177% from FY25
• Operating cash flow: $107 million, up 110%
• Basic earnings per share: 5.27 cents (FY25: 2.60 cents)
• No dividend declared

What else do investors need to know?

AIC Mines maintained solid safety standards, with its Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate improving from 12.0 to 5.7. The company produced 13,064 tonnes of copper and 6,621 ounces of gold in concentrate at its Eloise operation, achieving cost guidance for the third year in a row.

Development of the Jericho mine delivered 2,451 metres during the year, helping set up future growth by adding more ore sources and supporting the planned expansion of Eloise’s processing plant. The business finished FY26 with $41.7 million in cash and a strengthened balance sheet, with an enlarged US$50 million Trafigura debt facility, $20 million of which remains undrawn.

What did AIC Mines management say?

Managing Director and CEO Aaron Colleran commented:

FY26 has been a transformative year with robust operational and financial results driven by solid execution at Eloise and strong advancement of the Jericho development. The new processing plant expansion is on schedule, and we’re well positioned for our next phase of growth.

What’s next for AIC Mines?

Looking ahead, AIC Mines will focus on commissioning the upgraded Eloise processing plant in late 2026. This expansion is expected to lift production and improve economies of scale, with the aim of producing over 25,000 tonnes of copper annually by FY29. The company also plans to continue mine development at Jericho and pursue further growth opportunities in its exploration pipeline.

AIC Mines share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, AIC Mines shares have risen 176%, significantly outperforming the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

View Original Announcement

The post AIC Mines net profit soars 177% as plant expansion powers growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares that just hiked their payouts
• Higher for longer? Why the ASX 200 just turned negative
• ASX Limited FY26 final dividend: DRP participation and underwriting revealed
• Future Generation Global earnings: Profit and revenue drop, dividend rises
• Capricorn Metals completes Big Springs divestment, sharpens gold focus

Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart 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. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

It was shaping up to be such a happy hump day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). After closing at 9,164.6 points yesterday, the ASX 200 opened higher this morning, starting trade at above 9,180 points, and climbing to 9,220.6 points by mid-morning. That was just a whisker away from the index’s all-time high of 9.296.7 points.

Well-received earnings reports from ASX shares like Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU), as well as the galloping BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price, were all pulling their weight to lift the ASX 200 to that height. But alas, it wasn’t to last. Just before lunchtime, the index took a dramatic turn for the worse. It fell below the breakeven line just after midday, and is now firmly in negative territory, down 0.2% at the time of writing at just under 9,150 points.

So what has gone so wrong for the ASX 200 this Wednesday?

Well, it starts and stops with inflation. Specifically, the latest economic data out from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), covering the month of July.

As my Fool colleague Aaron went through earlier, the ABS revealed that inflation ran at 1% over July, giving the Australian economy an annual inflation rate of 3.5% for the preceding 12 months. Although that was down from 3.8% in June, it is still well above the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s target band of 203%.

Core inflation, which is the metric that the RBA prefers to use to measure price increases, was at 0.5% in July and 3.6% for the 12 months. That was higher than the 0.3% that most economists reportedly expected.

Why does higher inflation mean lower ASX 200 share prices?

Given that the ASX 200 began its downward turn almost immediately after these numbers were released today, it is clear that this is scaring investors. But why? Well, the obvious conclusion is that the market now expects inflation to remain higher for longer, and that means potentially higher interest rates sooner.

We all know that interest rates have severe impacts on the economy. Rate hikes are infamous for taking a larger chink of income from anyone with a mortgage. But they are also bad news for share prices. Higher rates increase the attractiveness of safe investments outside the share market. Think savings accounts, term deposits, and government bonds. If these investments, which are already offering investors safe yields of 5% or even higher, become even more attractive, many investors will pull money out of the share market and put it into these assets.

Further, investors often use ‘risk-free’ rates to put a value on ASX shares. This risk-free rate is usually a derivative of the cash rate. So it is this double-edged sword that cuts into share prices when interest rates rise. Investors know this, and given the higher-than-expected inflation number out today, are adjusting their expectations accordingly.

That’s probably why the ASX 200 took such a sharp turn for the worse during intra-day trading. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

The post Higher for longer? Why the ASX 200 just turned negative appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Inflation falls again, but could the RBA still raise interest rates?
• ASX 200 closes in on record territory as BHP and Woolworths surge
• Will CBA shares ever get back to the top of the ASX 200?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 recommended BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.