Global dividends are set to get back to 2019 levels by this time next year as companies rebound from the Covid crisis.
Payouts to investors will reach almost £1trillion by the end of 2021, according to figures from Janus Henderson.
This is just 3 per cent below the pre-pandemic total. Within 12 months, the payouts should be on a par.
In the second quarter of 2021 UK payouts rocketed by 60 per cent compared with last year.
However, they were still 27 per cent down on the same period in 2019 – compared with a global drop of 6 per cent.
The drag on the UK has been driven by cuts made by Royal Dutch Shell and BP.
Shell recently raised its dividend by 40 per cent but is still handing back around half the amount it was paying before Covid.
Jane Shoemake, of Janus Henderson, said: 'Households have record savings and there is pent-up demand to spend which should be good for company profits.'
