On the surface, it seemed as though 2024 is turning out to be a great year for ASX dividend shares and their investors.
After all, the recent earnings season saw companies such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) announce dividend pay rises for their shareholders.
CBA and CSL both declared their highest dividends ever. But Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL) went further by setting ASX history in cementing its 24th year of annual dividend increases in a row.
But if you thought that this makes for a strong year for ASX dividend shares, you'd unfortunately be mistaken.
According to a recent analysis of the global dividend arena from fund manager Janus Henderson, Australian shares were a global laggard as of the second quarter of 2024. In fact, the fund manager found that the payouts from Australian shares plunged 24.3% over the quarter compared to 2023. This drop was, according to Janus Henderson, "one of the most severe in the world".
That comes despite an unusually strong year for dividend investors in most other countries around the world. Janus Henderson found that global dividend payouts rose by 5.8% over the quarter to a new global record of US$606.1 billion. This was helped by Europe and the United States in particular. Top US shares Meta Platforms and Alphabet initiated a dividend for the first time ever last year.
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One ASX dividend share letting down the team
It's clear to the fund manager who the culprit for this dramatic dip in Australian shareholder payouts is – none other than ASX energy giant Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS).
Janus Henderson stated, "The fall was caused by a very large reduction from Woodside Energy, the largest payer in Q2 2023, whose profits fell due to lower commodity prices, inflationary pressures and asset impairments".
We don't have to look too far to see how accurate this assessment is. The final dividend that Woodside investors will receive tomorrow will be worth $1.02 per share. That's a notable reduction from the $1.24 investors enjoyed this time last year for one.
But April's final dividend of 91.68 cents per share was an absolutely massive cut from the $2.15 final dividend investors raked back in April of 2023. Those "lower commodity prices, inflationary pressures and asset impairments" have hit hard, it seems.
Saying all of that, there is good news to report too. Janus Henderson also predicted that the total effects on 2024's total levels of dividend income in the Australian markets from the second quarter would be "muted".
That's thanks to the third-quarter payouts marking "Australia's seasonal high". The fund manager predicts that payouts in the current quarter "should prove more resilient, though we do not expect strong growth".
