The ASX has long been known as a haven for dividend investors. Perhaps due to our unique system of franking, ASX investors have always loved a good dividend.
And companies have always felt a certain compulsion to give the people what they want. But having the world's biggest dividend? That is certainly a crown ASX investors would love to have.
Well, it looks like we might get it. Every quarter, global fund manager Janus Henderson Group (ASX: JHG) releases a Global Dividend Index report. This analyses the income-producing qualities of share markets around the world. Its latest report makes for some interesting reading.
Right off the bat, the report finds that global dividend payments jumped a healthy 11% over the first quarter of 2022 (the three months to 31 March).
But it also had some fascinating statistics on ASX dividends. It found that ASX dividends on the whole jumped by 38.9% over the quarter in question. This was largely thanks to one ASX share – BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).
BHP dominates the ASX today in a way it hasn't for decades. This is largely due to the fact that the mining giant has ended its dual listing on the London Stock Exchange and has rehomed exclusively to the ASX. This means that all of BHP's shares are now listed on the ASX, making it by far our largest public company.
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BHP comes in as the world's biggest dividend payer
But BHP has also spent the past year or two paying out record dividend payments. Its last dividend was the March interim payment. It was worth a whopping $2.08 per share, fully franked.
That was a very sizeable increase on last year's interim dividend of $1.31 per share. As it stands today, BHP shares have a trailing dividend yield of a whopping 9.97%.
Well, it's these recent payouts that have helped to push the company towards the 'world's biggest dividend' crown. Here's some of what the report said on this matter:
Indeed, almost three-fifths of the Australian Q1 total was paid by BHP alone, distributing $10.8bn to its shareholders, 70% more than the combined total of its Q1 2021 special and regular dividends. With another distribution planned for later in the year, BHP is likely to be the world's largest payer in 2022 for the second year running.
But the report also mentioned some other ASX dividend shares, namely Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG):
Among other Australian companies, Fortescue Metals suffered from lower iron ore prices and cut its dividend by two fifths. Commonwealth Bank of Australia made a 17% increase as regulatory constraints were eased, although it continues to pay less than its pre-pandemic high.
So if investors are feeling chuffed after BHP's monstrous year of dividends, there's a good reason. This is, I'm sure, one award that most BHP shareholders would be pretty pleased with.
