The amount of dividends paid to shareholders reached a new global record in the first quarter, thanks to the strength of the oil and mining sectors, as well as the post-Covid-19 rebound, according to a study published on Tuesday.
Payouts to investors rose 11% to $302.5 billion in the first three months of the year, a record for this "
traditionally calmer
" period, according to a report by asset manager Janus Henderson.
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These figures prompt Janus Henderson to revise his 2022 forecast upwards, to 1,540 billion dollars, “
an increase of 4.6%
” compared to 2021, which was already a record year.
Dividends had suffered a brake in 2020 and in the first quarter of 2021 under the impact of the pandemic.
The report shows that "
payouts have more than doubled
" since 2009, when the study was created, which measures the evolution of dividends paid by the 1,200 largest market capitalizations.
Despite a context of inflation and war in Ukraine, 94% of multinationals have increased their dividends or maintained them, details the study.
In the United States, this ratio was the strongest at 99% against 90% a year earlier.
The oil and mining industries celebrate
All regions recorded double-digit growth but "
notable weakness was however seen in parts of Asia, such as Hong Kong, where lockdowns continue to weigh on the economy
".
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In Europe, Denmark's dividends were much larger than usual due to an almost eightfold increase in the annual dividend of shipping group Moller-Maersk "
which benefits from the disruption of global supply chains
".
Its $7.2 billion first-quarter dividend is the largest since 2015 and "
will likely be one of the 30 largest paid out this year
."
All sectors recorded increases but oil, where dividends rebounded by a third during the first quarter, and mining stood out.
Mining companies, whose payouts to shareholders jumped 29.7%, “
will continue to make a strong contribution to growth in 2022, potentially paying out more than $100 billion in dividends for the first time,
” says Janus Henderson. .
The Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP is "
on track to become the world's biggest dividend payer in 2022, for the second year in a row
", adds the asset manager.
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