Dividends to soar to $1.52tn in 2022 after post pandemic rebound
Global dividends will surge to record levels in 2022 after payouts rebounded from a pandemic slump last year, a leading asset management firm has predicted.
British asset management firm Janus Henderson hiked its forecast for global dividends this year, predicting them to reach a new record of $1.52 trillion, up 3.1 per cent on 2021 levels.
It follows a rebound in payouts to investors in 2021, with dividends rising $212bn on 2020 levels to hit $1.47 trillion.
The surge last year was led by bumper payouts from banks and mining firms, which delivered three-fifths of the rise in payouts.
The mining sector distributed $96.6bn over the year, with BHP becoming the world’s largest dividend payer, while banks restarted payouts after pausing during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
But Janus Henderson said beneath the soaring numbers from these sectors there was a wider uplift across industries.
“In the context of the dramatic rebound seen in the banking sector, and the exceptional cyclical surge from mining companies, it would be easy to overlook the encouraging growth seen from those sectors that have delivered consistent increases in recent years, like the technology sector,” she said.
Janus Henderson said the mining sector’s soaring payout were expected to settle when the commodity cycle turns.
The figures come after Rio Tinto dished out the FTSE 100’s second highest dividend ever last week.
The miner committed to a total dividend of US$10.4 per share, including a US$2.47 per share special dividend, taking its total dividend payout for the year to US$16.8bn.