UK DIVIDENDS have fallen further behind other developed markets, with the fall in sterling following the Brexit vote cutting returns for overseas investors and cuts by the the UK's biggest listed companies hitting domestic shareholders.
According to the Henderson Global Dividend Index, UK dividends fell by 3.3 per cent in the second quarter, signalling the weakest performance in the G7 group of nations.
The headline total was 7.7 per cent higher year year on year at US$33.7 billion, but Henderson said that was down to large special dividends from companies such as GlaxoSmithKline and Intercontinental Hotels.
Global dividends jumped by 2.3 per cent to $421.6bn on a headline basis, up $9.7bn year on year, the report found. Underlying growth slowed to 1.2 per cent, from 3.1 per cent in quarter one, partly because of seasonal patterns.
Alex Crooke, head of global equity income at Henderson Global Investors said: “Profit growth remains under pressure in the UK, limiting the potential for companies to increase dividends.
"Moreover, since the UK’s decision to leave the EU at the end of June, the pound has fallen further on the foreign exchange markets. For overseas investors, that means UK dividends will be worth sharply less."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here