UK companies pay record Q3 dividends after mining sector boost

Benefitting from oil price rise

UK dividend growth "confounded" expectations in the months between June and September, according to the latest Capita UK Dividend Monitor, as mining sector payouts "significantly" exceeded market expectations.

Total headline dividends grew 14.3% YoY to reach £28.5bn in Q3, a record for the third quarter and the third-largest quarterly total ever paid out. Meanwhile, dividends on an underlying basis (excluding specials) also grew 13.2% to a Q3 record of £27bn. The report said the increase was in line with the growth seen in the first half of the year and while the exchange rate benefit from sterling's devaluation after the Brexit vote had largely disappeared by Q3, the profits of many companies with a UK cost-base and overseas markets for their goods and services could "continue to benefit"....