Headline dividends halve in Q1 - Capita

Headline dividends more than halved in the first quarter of 2015, according to Capita, although it has revised up its annual forecast.

According to the latest Capita Dividend Monitor, headline dividends were down 52% year on year from £30.9bn to £14.78n This decline was due to last year's figures being enhanced by Vodafone's £15.9bn special dividend, and this year's delay of Barclays' £630m dividend, which will now be paid in the second quarter of 2015 instead of Q1. However, when these one-off factors were stripped out, quarterly growth rates were up 10.4% year on year before special dividends, the fastest growth for almost three years. This was helped by a stronger dollar, which rose 12% against the pound, benefiti...