Which Australian firm was a world-leading dividend payer?

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has retained its spot as one of the world’s biggest dividend payers, although it has fallen from 15^th place in 2018 to 20^th as the banking sector remains ‘vulnerable to cuts’.

This was the only Australian company to feature on the top 20 list, comprised by Janus Henderson, which was topped by UK resources firm Royal Dutch Shell.

It was a notable inclusion as the banking sector had been ‘vulnerable to cuts for some time’ as a result of low dividend cover and subdued profits with both ANZ and National Australia Bank (NAB) cutting dividends.

CommBank had consistently appeared on the table every year since 2013 but the only other bank to feature in recent years was Westpac which was ranked 10^th in 2013.

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According to the dividend index, Australia had a ‘difficult year’ in 2019 with underlying dividends falling 3.3% as two-fifths of companies cut their dividends.

Headline dividends rose 3.2% to US $55.5 billion ($82.8 billion), thanks to special dividends paid by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, the highest figure since 2013.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which are dual-listed on the Australian and UK stock exchanges, were in sixth and seventh place respectively. This was a new entry for Rio Tinto and a rise from 17^th in 2018 to sixth this year for BHP Billiton.