Over in the US, the term 'dividend aristocrat' is one that every investor knows.
It refers to a dividend-paying share that has increased said dividend non-stop for at least 25 years in a row.
Here in Australia, the term is less well known. Why? Because (as hard as it is to believe here in the land of franking credits) we simply don't have any.
And dividend kings – the stocks with a 50-year history of dividend raises? Nothing more than a regal legend on the ASX boards.
However, we do have some ASX shares that are getting close to true 'dividend aristocrat' status.
Take Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL). Soul Patts has just increased its dividend for the 20th year in a row. 5 more and it will be crowned the ASX's first dividend aristocrat.
Unfortunately, this week, we lost another contender.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) had a dividend history to rival that of Soul Patts – delivering a dividend increase annually since 2000.
Until Monday.
ASX dividend aristocrat no more
Tragically, Ramsay will be starting from zero in 2021 after it announced its dividends will be suspended for the remainder of 2020.
The company has already paid an interim dividend in March. But if it doesn't pay a final dividend in 2020 (like it's told us it won't) the 20-year streak will come to an end.
Now, Ramsay must have broken its streak because it absolutely had to. We can gather from the ASX release (in which a capital raising was also announced) that its current cash flows have been so severely impacted by the coronavirus that there simply isn't the money there to fund dividend payments for ordinary shares.
But still, this is a sad week for Ramsay Health Care and its shareholders. The list of potential ASX dividend aristocrats grows thin indeed. After Ramsay, I'm watching Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) in this space. It's not far behind Soul Patts for dividend longevity. But who knows, maybe in 2046 Ramsay Health Care might finally wear that coveted crown.
Foolish takeaway
Even though I'm bitterly disappointed about this news from Ramsay, I'm still bullish on the long-term future of this company. It has a large network of impeccably-run private hospitals, both in Australia and across several other countries.
Healthcare is an 'evergreen' industry that will only benefit from the ageing population demographics across advanced economies well into the future.
