Overview -
• UK dividends of £31.4bn were 1.0% higher on an adjusted headline basis in Q3
• One-off special dividends were sharply lower year-on-year, but a weak pound added a significant £1.9bn boost
• Underlying dividends rose 4.0% to £28.1bn, slightly weaker than expected
Sectors & Companies -
• Mining payouts fell by a fifth as the commodity cycle rolled over - the biggest negative impact in Q3 - but remained the largest paying sector
• Banks and financials made the largest contribution to growth, up by 49%, or £2.7bn
• Oil & gas dividends rose by a fifth; share buybacks are providing a more discreet means of rewarding shareholders for booming profits
• Consumer services continued the post-pandemic recovery, but consumer basics lagged behind
Top 100 v Mid 250 -
• Top 100 payouts were 5.3% higher on an adjusted headline basis and benefited disproportionately from the weak pound
• Underlying top 100 dividends rose 11.2%
• Underlying growth in mid-250 was strong (+17.0%) reflecting the tail end of the post-pandemic catch-up; headline growth was impacted by sharply lower one-off special dividends
Yield -
• Lower share prices and a stable outlook for dividends mean equities will yield 4.2% over the next twelve months
• Crucially bond yields have jumped and now offer a similar income return to investors for the first time in a decade
Outlook -
• Upgrade to 2022 figures driven by further sterling weakness
• We expect headline payouts to rise to £97.4bn, up 11.0% on an adjusted headline basis
• Underlying dividends will rise 15.3%1 to £87.2bn
• Provisional 2023 forecast for UK plc dividends sees slight drop in headline dividends and slight rise in underlying pay
Looking at their forecasts for this full year and also for 2023, they're predicting a general flat-lining of overall UK payouts, but where a reduction in special dividends is compensated by underlying growth in regular dividends, which overall and taking into account a period of high inflation, is likely to put some strain on income-investors with little margin to cope -
Source - the Q3 report linked below
There's lots of additional detailed information and insight within this Q3 2022 Dividend Monitor update, specifically related to UK-company dividends, which can be downloaded by using the following link -
https://linkgroupmarketing.co.uk/p/4FG4-P3X/q3-uk-dividend-monitor
It's worth noting that the above PDF report can be downloaded using any requested details on the above link...
Cheers,
Itsallaguess