I think one of the most important elements of a good ASX dividend share is its ability to provide regular dividend growth. If I’m relying on passive income payments, I’d want to choose shares that are highly likely to continue delivering dividends.

Preferably, I’d want to own investments that are likely to regularly increase the payouts to help offset inflation and hopefully grow faster than inflation.

Let’s look at three businesses that have increasingly excellent track records of dividend growth.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA Group is one of the largest energy infrastructure businesses on the ASX. It’s invested in various aspects of Australia’s energy system including a huge network of gas pipelines, gas storage and processing, gas-powered energy generation, solar farms, wind farms and batteries.

It pays for its impressive distribution from the cash flow that its portfolio of energy assets produces. That cash flow is steadily rising amid additions of new energy assets over the years via acquisitions and project builds, as well as inflation-linked revenue increases.

The ASX dividend share has increased its payout every year for more than 20 years in a row, which is an excellent record of consistency.

It expects to increase its annual distribution to 59 cents per security in FY27, adding to its record. This translates into a forward distribution yield of 5.5%.  

Future Generation Global Ltd (ASX: FGG)

Future Generation Global is a listed investment company (LIC) that gives investors exposure to a portfolio of global stocks and also compelling philanthropic efforts.

It’s invested in a portfolio of funds from more than a dozen fund managers focused on global shares, who all work for free. With those investments, there are more than 3,700 underlying shares in the portfolio, which is great diversification.

The shares come from across the world, including North America, the UK, Europe, Asia, other developed markets and emerging markets.

The ASX dividend share’s investment returns help pay for a growing dividend, which has increased every year since FY19, so we’re already at several years of consecutive payout growth.

It expects to pay an annual dividend of 8.4 cents per share in FY26, which translates into a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.4%, including franking credits.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Soul Patts is another leading investment business on the ASX. It’s an investment house that has been listed for more than 120 years.

The beauty of its strategy is that it’s invested in a variety of largely uncorrelated assets that can all generate cash flow in most economic conditions and help the company fund its market-leading dividend.

The ASX dividend share is the leader on the ASX in terms of the number of consecutive years it has increased its dividend. The regular dividend has increased every year since 1998. It’s not far off 30 years of consecutive dividend growth!

With a regularly expanding portfolio of new investments – along with organic growth of existing investments – I think it’s likely to continue hiking its dividend in the years ahead.

It currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 3.4%, including franking credits, though I expect the yield for the next 12 months will include a dividend hike.

The post 3 ASX dividend shares raising dividends like clockwork appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Future Generation Global and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Apa Group and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Liontown Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price is in focus today after the company reported a maiden NPAT of $93 million and record revenue of $639 million for FY26, reflecting strong operational delivery as lithium prices rebounded in the second half.

What did Liontown report?

• Maiden net profit after tax (NPAT) of $93 million; underlying NPAT of $14 million
• Record revenue of $639 million, up from $298 million in FY25
• Underlying EBITDA of $147 million, up from $20 million last year
• Operating cash flow grew to $182 million
• Transitioned Kathleen Valley to 100% underground operation, with open pit mining concluding on schedule
• Produced 391,992 dmt and shipped 381,997 dmt of concentrate at a 5.1% Li₂O average grade

What else do investors need to know?

Liontown completed its transition to a fully underground operation at Kathleen Valley this year, with the ramp-up progressing as planned. The current run-rate target of 2.8 million tonnes per annum is on track to be achieved by the end of FY27.

The company also clarified the impact of market volatility, noting that it maintained strict cost control during weaker price cycles and is now reinvesting in expansion as conditions improve. Notably, Liontown reduced current borrowings by $312 million to just $53 million at 30 June 2026, mainly due to the conversion of convertible notes to equity.

On the sustainability front, the Kathleen Valley Hybrid Power Station continued to perform reliably, providing around 80% renewable energy to operations. Liontown strengthened partnerships with the Tjiwarl Traditional Owners, investing $24 million with Aboriginal businesses and supporting workforce development.

What did Liontown management say?

Managing Director and CEO Tony Ottaviano said:

In this financial year, Kathleen Valley produced its maiden profit and strong operating cash while still ramping up, helped in the second half by better prices. We generated $182 million in operating cash, with NPAT of $93 million and underlying NPAT of $14 million.

The market handed us two very different halves in the year. Prices were weak early, so we kept costs tight and preserved cash. When the market turned, we backed our own read of it and we are now reinvesting in Kathleen Valley with the same discipline.

We concluded open pit mining during the year. The underground ramp-up is going to plan and we are on track for 2.8Mtpa by the end of FY27.

As we enter FY27, our focus is safe, stable operations, delivering a business that is resilient through the cycle, and growing responsibly with FID on our Kathleen Valley expansion due next month.

What’s next for Liontown?

Looking ahead, Liontown will focus on safely scaling up the underground operations at Kathleen Valley, aiming to reach the targeted 2.8Mtpa run-rate by the end of FY27. The company is also preparing for a final investment decision on the next phase of its Kathleen Valley expansion, expected shortly.

With strong cash flow, a significant reduction in debt, and continued investment in sustainability and traditional owner partnerships, Liontown appears well placed to navigate lithium market cycles and pursue further growth opportunities.

Liontown share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Liontown shares have risen 31%, outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 2% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Liontown FY26 results: Maiden profit, record revenue as lithium prices rebound appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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.

If you are looking for a way to gain exposure to gold and copper and have a high tolerance for risk, then read on.

That’s because Bell Potter is tipping one up and coming ASX gold-copper stock to explode over the next 12 months.

Which ASX gold-copper stock?

The stock that has caught the eye of Bell Potter is Waratah Minerals Ltd (ASX: WTM).

It is a New South Wales based, gold-copper exploration and development company. 

Its flagship project is the 100%-owned Spur gold-copper project, which is an advanced stage, pre-resource exploration project in the Lachlan Fold Belt. This is located ~33km southwest of Orange and just ~5km from the Cadia gold-copper operation owned by Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM). 

Bell Potter notes that more drilling results have been announced for the Spur Project, which have been positive. It said:

WTM has announced further results from the Consols Zone, part of the 80,000m growth and extensional drilling program at its 100%-owned Spur Project in NSW. Holes returned include SPD074, a major step-out hole which successfully intersected multiple mineralised zones, confirming a significant eastward and down-plunge extension of Consols. The hole also intersected a previously unrecognised shallow high-grade zone, opening up a new area of exploration potential. 

Drilling also progressed at the Spur Zone, extending mineralisation north along the Tywi Fault. Results included SPD081, which intersected Consols-style mineralisation at Spur, extending mineralisation 65m north, further building the case for continuity between the zones. It also intersected potassic alteration in another hint of the porphyry potential at depth, which has not yet been seriously tested. Multiple rigs remain active, indicating a steady news flow through the rest of CY26.

Should you invest?

According to the note, Bell Potter has retained its speculative buy on the ASX gold-copper stock with an improved price target of $1.15.

Based on its current share price of 60.5 cents, this implies potential upside of 90% for investors over the next 12 months.

Commenting on its buy recommendation, the broker said:

The Spur Project is showing strong indications of delivering a gold-copper deposit of substantial scale and grade in a strategic setting. We see potential for the delineation of a regionally significant gold Resource of +3.0Moz at competitive gold grades between 0.8-1.0g/t Au. This informs our valuation, which is based on a 50:50 blended EV/Resource ounce multiple and risk-adjusted notional mining scenario. We lift our Valuation to $1.15/sh and retain our Speculative Buy recommendation.

The post Why this ASX gold-copper stock could rocket 90% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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.