“Go Global” report.
Many Australian investors rely on regular dividend payments. Companies which boast consistently impressive dividend yields are often considered to be well-governed, generating consistently strong cash flow and prioritising shareholders.
Yet some experts are questioning whether Australian companies’ dividend payments are sustainable at their current, generous levels. In the investment manager’s view, Australia’s top companies could be stuck in a dividend spiral.
In May 2015, Morgan Stanley reported that the country’s 200 biggest listed companies were paying out 73% of their earnings as dividends, compared with as little as 50% just five years earlier.1
This has since grown and the ten largest income payers account for approximately 50% of the total ASX income. Any Australian company that reduces its dividend risks sending a negative signal to stock market investors.
Columbia Threadneedle shines a spotlight on some of the most promising dividend-paying companies and sectors across the globe in their latest issue of Go Global.
