Weakening sterling added £2.5bn to UK dividends during the third quarter, the largest quarterly exchange rate effect on dividends since the financial crisis.
According to the latest quarterly Capita Dividend Monitor, third quarter headline dividends were £24.9bn, representing a 1.6% increase, while underlying dividends came to £23.9bn. This came despite £2.2bn of dividend cuts during the quarter, mainly from the mining sector firms such as Rio Tinto and Anglo American. Mining dividends were down 68% year-on-year despite a 20% boost from a weaker currency. Sterling is down 17% against the US dollar since the start of the year with the biggest falls coming following the vote to leave the European Union as political uncertainty weighs on the ...
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