The business behind the dividend
| Measure | MUR | Median | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 2.0% | 11.7% | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Return on capital employed | 4.7% | 10.1% | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) |
| Owner earnings | $61.38m | $632.00m | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
| Free cash flow | $227.20m | $746.10m | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure |
| Operating margin | 11.2% | 15.0% | Operating income ÷ revenue |
| Net margin | 3.9% | 10.2% | Net income ÷ revenue |
| Debt to equity | 0.25x | 0.79x | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Interest cover | 3.14x | 4.43x | Operating income ÷ interest expense |
| Current ratio | 0.77x | 1.25x | Current assets ÷ current liabilities |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | — | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) |
| Cash conversion | 11.97x | 1.78x | Operating cash flow ÷ net income |
Not computed here: Long-term debt to working capital — why a blank is not a zero.
Ten years of it
The same measures, for every year the filings support. One year is a fact; a row is a business.
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 2.0% | 7.8% | 12.3% | 19.3% | -1.8% | -27.3% | 21.0% | 8.5% | -6.7% | -5.6% | 2.0% |
| Return on capital employed | 4.7% | 9.3% | 15.6% | 23.3% | 4.3% | -19.5% | 5.4% | 2.8% | -0.4% | -5.1% | 4.3% |
| Operating margin | 11.2% | 20.0% | 30.2% | 37.6% | 10.0% | -77.8% | 15.8% | 11.9% | -2.0% | -20.9% | 11.2% |
| Net margin | 3.9% | 13.5% | 19.2% | 22.9% | -2.6% | -65.6% | 40.8% | 22.8% | -24.0% | -14.8% | 3.9% |
| Debt to equity | 0.25x | 0.24x | 0.25x | 0.36x | 0.59x | 0.66x | 0.51x | 0.57x | 0.60x | 0.56x | 0.51x |
| Current ratio | 0.77x | 0.83x | 0.89x | 0.77x | 0.76x | 1.40x | 1.03x | 1.04x | 1.64x | 1.04x | 0.89x |
| Cash conversion | 11.97x | 4.25x | 2.64x | 2.26x | — | — | 1.30x | 1.82x | — | — | 2.26x |
How it compares in energy
Among the 31 energy companies here measured on free cash flow, Murphy Oil pays out less than 4 of them. The median for that group is 35.7%, against this company’s 82.0%.
Closest on free cash flow
- Northern Oil & Gas (NOG) 68.4%
- Exxon Mobil (XOM) 73.0%
- Chevron (CVX) 76.9%
- Helmerich & Payne (HP) 86.4%
Same sector and same denominator, so the figures are comparable. All 40 in energy →