The three ASX dividend shares in this article have a reputation for continually increasing their dividends.
Income growth from plenty of shares has been rare in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts.
With that in mind, these three ASX dividend shares keep growing their dividends for shareholders:
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Soul Patts has the longest-running dividend growth streak record on the ASX. It has increased its dividend every year since 2000.
The ASX dividend share has an investment portfolio comprised of a number of different investments including TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API), Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI), Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT), Clover Corporation Limited (ASX: CLV) and Palla Pharma Ltd (ASX: PAL).
The business funds its dividend from the cashflow from its investments, namely being the dividends and distributions. It retains some cashflow profit each year to invest into new opportunities.
Some of its latest investments include agriculture and luxury retirement homes. It has also made an investment into Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG) and launched a takeover offer for Regis Healthcare Ltd (ASX: REG), but that was rejected.
Soul Patts currently has a fully franked dividend yield of 2%.
Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)
This ASX dividend share has been increasing its dividend every year in a row for almost a decade.
Sonic is a global pathology business. It's also involved in testing for COVID-19 cases in several of the countries that it operates.
The healthcare stock is actually seeing a return to growth in its core laboratory pathology business in most countries compared to the prior corresponding period, aside from the US and UK.
But the COVID-19 tests are adding to Sonic's earnings this year. Sonic said that in the first three months of FY21 it generated total revenue growth of 29% and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 71% after a focus on reducing costs.
Since that update the winter has seen an escalation of COVID-19 cases in the northern hemisphere. Indeed, the US is currently reporting daily new COVID-19 cases of around 200,000.
Sonic currently has a partially franked dividend yield of 2.6%.
APA Group (ASX: APA)
This ASX dividend share has increased its distribution every year for the past decade and a half.
APA owns a large network of 15,000km of natural gas pipelines around Australia with a presence in every mainland state and the Northern Territory. It also owns or has interests in gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar farms). APA owns, or manages and operates, a portfolio of assets and delivers half the nation's natural gas usage.
The infrastructure ASX dividend share funds its dividend from its operating cashflow. In FY20 it reported that its revenue went up 4.9%, EBITDA grew by 5.1% to $1.65 billion, operating cashflow rose by 8.3% to almost $1.1 billion and net profit after tax (NPAT) rose 10.1% to $317 million. The distribution was increased by 6.4% to 50 cents per unit in FY20.
A few weeks ago APA announced it was investing up to $460 million to construct a new 580km pipeline in Western Australia to connect emerging gas fields in the Perth Basin to the resource rich Goldfields region to form an interconnected gas grid in WA. This Northern Goldfields Interconnect will connect to APA's Goldfields Gas Pipeline (GGP). APA also said that this has the potential to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in the Goldfields region.
APA currently has a trailing distribution yield of 4.9%.
