ASX dividend shares that grow their dividends like clockwork are very attractive.
Look at many of the ASX's biggest blue chips like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS). Their dividends aren't going anywhere.
If you can invest in businesses that are continually going their dividends and earnings, you might be onto a winner.
These are three of the ASX shares with the longest-running dividend growth streaks:
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
Ramsay is one of the most defensive shares on the ASX with its large private hospital networks across Australia and Europe.
It has increased its dividend every year since 2000. It has a grossed-up dividend yield of 2.75%.
It's able to continue growing its dividend because of the ageing population tailwind and a strategy of continuing to invest in opening new hospitals and expand existing ones. Expanding into new countries is also an exciting strategy.
APA Group (ASX: APA)
APA owns a vast network of 15,000km of natural gas pipelines around Australia with a presence in every mainland state and the Northern Territory. It also owns or has interests in gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar farms). It owns, or manages and operates, a portfolio of assets worth more than $21 billion and delivers half the nation's natural gas usage.
It has increased its dividend every year for around 15 years. It currently has a distribution yield of 4.2%.
It's able to continue growing its dividend because of rising energy demands and continuing to invest in new energy projects.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Soul Patts is an investment conglomerate which has been operating since the early 1900s, it's invested in a variety of industries including telecommunications, building products, resources and so on.
It has increased its dividend every year since 2000 and it currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 3.7%. It has actually paid a dividend every year since inception.
It's able to continue growing the dividend because its underlying investments keep growing and Soul Patts also retains some of its investment income each year to invest in more opportunities.
Foolish takeaway
All three of these dividend shares are great ideas for growing income, which is great with how low inflation is. At the current prices I'd probably going for Soul Patts because its structure is most likely to deliver growth and its valuation seems more attractive.
