Energy companies paying out huge amounts have sent global dividends to record levels, according to new research today from Janus Henderson.
State-controlled giants in Latin America accounted for more than two-fifths of the growth in global payouts the three months to end-June, said the fund manager.
In total, global dividend payments reached $545bn in the second quarter, up 11.3% on a headline basis year-on-year, and are on track to reach $1.56trn for 2022 overall, a 5.8% increase year-on-year.
"What we've seen is companies have generally come back to paying dividends much more quickly perhaps than some commentators thought they would because earnings have been better," said Ben Lofthouse, Janus Henderson's head of global equity income.
Oil firms Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) in Brazil and Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) in Colombia drove the surge in payouts though oil companies in places such as the UK through BP and Shell were not far behind.
UK dividends leapt 29.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, also helped by bank handouts, with the oil groups helping emerging markets dividends rise by 22.5% to a new record.