Key takeaways:

• A number of coal and oil companies are currently trading on significant yields following bumper payouts over the last year

• However, at a time where energy prices have declined sharply, Refinitiv data estimates these payouts are set to decrease significantly

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Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter and a major supplier of LNG and uranium to world markets, in particular Asia. The ASX energy sector comprises companies involved in the exploration and development of coal, uranium, oil and gas, as well as renewable energy assets.

The sector is also home to a number of shares that, historically, have paid varying dividends that correspond with fluctuations in the commodities market. With this in mind, we’re taking a look at five ASX-listed energy shares currently trading with some of the highest dividend yields in this sector. 

Please note: This list is intended to present a selection of shares from this sector that are trading with the highest 12-month trailing dividend yield (excluding special dividends and disregarding franking status) at the time of writing. All forecasts provided are from Refinitiv, based on a range of analyst estimates. There are no guarantees these shares will continue to pay dividends as they have in the past, or at all.

Yancoal (ASX: YAL)

Trailing 12-Month Dividend Yield: 18.1% | Refinitiv Forecast Forward Yield (FY24): 20.8% | Market Cap: $7.8 billion

Yancoal is an Australia-based coal producer in the seaborne market, producing a mix of thermal, semi-soft coking, and pulverized coal injection (PCI) coals for export. It operates a diversified portfolio of assets consisting of both large-scale open cut and underground mines. These sites are located across New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia.

The company’s thermal coal is primarily used in electricity generation and its end users are power and utilities companies. Metallurgical coal is primarily used to produce coke for blast furnace steel production and its end users are steel plants. 

Yancoal’s most recent dividend payments include an interim dividend of $0.37 per share for HY23, and before that, a final dividend of $0.70 per share for FY22. Both of these dividends were fully-franked. Refinitiv data on the Selfwealth platform offers an estimate that Yancoal’s full-year earnings could drop in FY23, but its dividend may rise before tailing off in FY24. Nonetheless, the Refinitiv forecast implies a forward dividend yield for FY24 of 20.8%.

Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS)

Trailing 12-Month Dividend Yield: 10.7% | Refinitiv Forecast Forward Yield (FY24): 5.4% | Market Cap: $60.6 billion

Woodside Energy is a global energy company with operations split across Australia and abroad. Its Australian segment is engaged in the exploration, evaluation, development, production, and sale of liquified natural gas, pipeline gas, crude oil and condensate, and natural gas liquids in Australia. The company’s International division is engaged in the exploration, evaluation, development, production and sale of pipeline gas, crude oil & condensate, and natural gas liquids overseas.

WDS also operates a Marketing segment, which trades liquified natural gas (non-produced), and it conducts optimisation activities generating incremental value from produced liquified natural gas via scheduling, shipping, and/or contract management. Some of the company’s key projects include Pluto LNG, Northwest Shelf project, Wheatstone and Julimar-Brunello, Macedon, Bass Strait, Calypso, Browse, Wildling, Atlantis, Woodside Solar project, and Scarborough and Pluto Train 2.

In August, Woodside declared an interim HY23 dividend of US 80 cents per share, fully-franked, while the preceding dividend payment, which was the final dividend for FY22, was US $1.44 per share, also fully-franked. Refinitiv data on the Selfwealth platform forecasts earnings and dividends may drop across each of the next two financial years. Based on Refinitiv’s forecasts, the stock’s forward dividend yield for FY24 is 5.4%.

New Hope (ASX: NHC)

Trailing 12-Month Dividend Yield: 9.6% | Refinitiv Forecast Forward Yield (FY25): 7.1% | Market Cap: $4.5 billion

Like Yancoal, New Hope is also an Australia-based coal company, with its principal activities consisting of the development and operation of coal mines, port handling and logistics, investment in coal mines, agriculture, plus oil and gas development and production. 

The company operates three segments: Coal Mining in Queensland, Coal Mining in New South Wales, and Other. The Coal Mining segments include mining related production, processing, transportation, and marketing, with the Queensland division also extending to port operations. NHC’s Other segment includes coal exploration, oil and gas related exploration, development, production and processing, pastoral operations, treasury, and administration. Queensland Bulk Handling is NHC’s coal export terminal and has the ability to store multiple bulk material types.

In FY23, New Hope paid investors a total of $0.70 per share in dividends, including an interim ordinary payment of $0.30, an interim special dividend of $0.10, a final ordinary dividend of $0.21, and a final special dividend of $0.09. Each of these dividends were fully-franked. Refinitiv data on the Selfwealth platform suggests that New Hope’s earnings and dividend may drop significantly over the coming year, with the stock trading on a forward dividend yield of 7.1% for FY25.

Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC)

Trailing 12-Month Dividend Yield: 8.8% | Refinitiv Forecast Forward Yield (FY25): 2.9% | Market Cap: $7.0 billion

Whitehaven Coal is another coal producer with coal mines in New South Wales and Queensland. Its segments include open-cut operations, underground operations, and coal trading and blending. Its major assets include Canyon Mine, Gunnedah CHPP, Maules Creek Mine, Narrabri Mine, Narrabri Stage-3 Extension Project, Rocglen Mine, Sunnyside Mine, Tarrawonga Mine, Vickery Extension Project, Werris Creek Mine, and Winchester South Project. 

The company’s operating assets are complemented by two development assets: Vickery, near Gunnedah, and Winchester South, in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. It produces coal using open-cut mining methods at Maules Creek, Tarrawonga, and Werris Creek, and underground mining methods at Narrabri. The Vickery Extension Project (Vickery) is a proposal to construct an open-cut coal mine and associated on-site infrastructure about 25 kilometers north of Gunnedah.

In FY23, Whitehaven paid shareholders a total dividend of $0.74 per share, including an interim dividend of $0.32, and a final dividend of $0.42. Both of these payments were fully-franked. Refinitiv data on the Selfwealth platform predicts a potentially large decrease in the company’s earnings and dividends in FY24, before a subsequent increase in FY25, corresponding with a forward dividend yield of 2.9%.

Ampol (ASX: ALD)

Trailing 12-Month Dividend Yield: 5.5% | Refinitiv Forecast Forward Yield (FY24): 5.9% | Market Cap: $8.6 billion

Ampol is a transport energy provider with a nationwide petrol and a convenience network, as well as refining, importing, and marketing fuels and lubricants. It also offers electric vehicle charging and home electricity solutions. The company supplies fuel to approximately 80,000 customers in diverse markets across the Australian economy, including defence, mining, transport, marine, agriculture, aviation, and other commercial sectors. 

Across its retail network, Ampol serves approximately three million customers every week with fuel and convenience products, as well as electric vehicle charging at selected locations. Its customer base is supported by its supply chain and strategic infrastructure positions across the country, which includes 16 terminals, six pipelines, 55 wet depots, over 1,800 branded sites, and one refinery located in Lytton, Queensland.

The last two dividends declared by Ampol include an interim dividend of $0.95 per share for HY23, and a final dividend of $1.05 for FY22, which was also accompanied by a special dividend of $0.50 per share. Each of these dividends were fully-franked. Refinitiv data on the Selfwealth platform offers a mixed outlook, suggesting ALD’s dividend may decline over a period of unsteady earnings to FY24, but the dividend estimate for that financial year translates into a forward yield of 5.9%.