S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining stocks leapt onto income investors' radars amid record dividend payouts in 2021.
Indeed, 2021 saw the big ASX mining companies listed among the world's top dividend payers.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) all delivered a record high final or interim dividend (or both) that year.
And the ASX 200 mining stocks continued to please passive income investors in 2022.
While their dividends slipped from the prior year, they were still far above historic averages.
But they're starting to come back to earth, with the first dividends from all three ASX 200 miners this year dropping well below the 2022 levels.
At their current share prices, here are the trailing yields the miners are trading at:
- BHP shares trade on a dividend yield of 9.2%
- Fortescue shares trade on a dividend yield of 10.3%
- Rio Tinto shares trade on a dividend yield of 6.7%
Time to look beyond ASX 200 mining stocks for your dividend income?
While the yields from the ASX 200 mining stocks are still attractive, particularly with the franking credits, they're certainly heading lower.
And this comes as the Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index reveals that global dividends increased 12% on a headline basis in the first quarter of the 2023 calendar year. This delivered a first-quarter record of US$326.7 billion in passive income to investors.
The global boost was driven by higher dividends from bank stocks and oil stocks.
Globally, mining dividends fell by approximately 20% in the first quarter.
As for the ASX 200 mining stocks, the Janus Henderson report noted:
The end of the recent mining boom is seeing payouts in the sector normalise, bringing first-quarter cuts from BHP, the world's largest dividend payer in 2022, and its smaller rival Fortescue Metals. Rio Tinto has sharply cut its dividend for the second quarter too.
Mirroring the global trend, the ASX 200 banks helped support the overall dividends in the first quarter.
However, the report notes, "A one-fifth increase from CBA, Australia's largest bank, along with strong growth from most other companies that make Q1 payments was not enough to offset the impact" of the lower dividends from the big miners.
First quarter dividends in Australia were down 6.6% on a headline basis at US$18.7 billion (AU$28.3 billion).
Investors looking beyond ASX 200 mining stocks for passive income may want to run their slide rule over the big oil and gas stocks.
"In Q2 large oil dividends will make up some of the gap left by the mining sector," the report notes.
