UK dividend payouts set to drop but Artemis contests coverage stats

UK dividend payouts will contract this year for the first time since 2010 following a "disappointing" Q3 for income investors, according to Capita.

However, fund managers at Artemis have contested a separate report suggesting dividend cover has fallen to a three-year low. Capita's latest Dividend Monitor predicts companies' continued willingness to meet investors' hunger for income will push UK payouts to a record £102bn in 2014, but also flags a number of worrying trends in the nearer-term. These include a £1.7bn downwards revision to its 2013 forecast after the underlying growth rate fell from 7.7% in H1 to 6.2% in Q3. Capita now predicts total payouts will contract 1.2% this year to £79.7bn; the first drop since the BP-prom...