Australian dividends have officially recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic after ASX shares offered a record $98 billion of dividends over the 12 months ended March.
But could the rest of 2022 see Australian investors receiving yet another record-breaking payout?
Experts at the Janus Henderson Group (ASX: JHG) think that $100 billion of dividends could be on the money for ASX investors this year. If that's reached, it will likely be thanks to some of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)'s biggest names.
However, the global asset manager has warned of a darker side to such a story.
Let's take a look at what might be in store for ASX dividend investors over the rest of 2022.
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Could ASX shares pay out $100b in dividends in 2022?
ASX 200 mining companies might help push Australian dividends to a new record in 2022. That's according to data compiled by Janus Henderson.
"Australian dividends, already at record levels, are set to rise further over the rest of the year and may top $100 billion for the first time," it noted.
However, the asset manager warned that Australia's dividends are concentrated to a few stocks in a few sectors. That could spell bad news for investors.
Of the $97.9 billion of dividends ASX investors received over the year to March, $53 billion came from materials shares. The financials sector handed another $30.3 billion of dividends to shareholders.
"Australia's high level of dividend concentration leaves domestic investors far more heavily dependent on just a handful of companies for a very large portion of their dividend income than in any comparable country," Janus Henderson noted in its latest Global Dividend Index report.
"There are many examples from around the world in recent years of how very large dividend payers encountered difficulties that have forced them to cut payouts …
"[T]aking a global approach to dividend income clearly captures the significant benefits of diversification that a domestic, Australia-focused strategy would struggle to replicate."
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) handed out one of the world's biggest dividend increases last quarter. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) dividend also scored a mention. It increased 17% last half.
No doubt, dividend fans will be keeping their eyes peeled for ASX shares bolstering their payouts over the remainder of 2022.
