Record highs reached as payouts surge across globe

AUSTRALIA’S biggest companies paid out $74 billion in dividends in the year to June, up a record 14 per cent and outpacing global dividend growth, according to new research.

The latest dividend report from asset manager Janus Henderson shows that, globally, the top 1200 companies forked out $US1.18 trillion ($A1.6 trillion) to shareholders – an increase of 12.7 per cent on the previous year.

Record growth during the June quarter contributed to the strong result.

Overall, dividends surged almost 13 per cent globally in the June quarter, to $US497 billion ($A680 billion), with 12 countries reporting record high payouts.

In Australia, where shareholders receive the biggest payouts in the September quarter, dividends in the three months to June increased 10 per cent to $12 billion.

Janus Henderson spokesman Ben Lofthouse said the research highlighted the overreliance of Australian investors on banks.

More than 60 per cent of dividends paid in Australia were from finance companies, compared with 25 per cent in the rest of the world.

The report from the London-based asset manager also found dividend payments surged in almost every region of the world, hitting record highs in countries including France, Japan and the US.

Despite a dividend cut at GE, companies in the US still paid out a record $US117 billion during the three months to June, accounting for almost a quarter of all shareholder payments around the world.

The UK was the only place to report a fall in dividends, down 1.4 per cent.

The Asia-Pacific region recorded the strongest growth for the quarter – up 29 per cent – mainly due to large special dividends paid by companies in Hong Kong and Singapore.