With reporting season more than halfway done, we look over the results to identify some of the ASX shares delivering the best passive income boosts through higher final dividends this year.
Dividends are in focus amid many experts predicting that total returns are "going to come much more from dividends" in this era of normalised interest rates and persistently high inflation.
All of these companies below delivered a 10%-or-more boost to their final dividends in FY23.
Passive income investors, take note…
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8 ASX shares delivering turbocharged passive income
Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) declared a final dividend of 44 cents per share plus a special dividend of 25 cents per share following record sales and an 11% surge in NPAT to $263 million in FY23. If we put that together, the retail share's final dividend will be a whopping 60% higher than FY22.
Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) raised its final dividend by an equally impressive 59% to 27 cents per share. The banking and insurance giant reported an NPAT of $1.15 billion, up from $681 million in FY22.
Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) has wowed passive income investors with a final dividend of 17 cents, up 36% on FY22. The medical imaging company reported a 36.5% bump in NPAT to $60.5 million.
Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) shares will pay a final dividend of 32.5 cents per share, up 33% on FY22. The online car advertiser reported a 43% increase in adjusted NPAT to $278.2 million.
Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) will reward investors with a 21% boosted final dividend of $1.75 per share. The hearing implant giant reported record revenue and a 10% rise in underlying net profit to $305 million.
The Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) also upped its final dividend by 21% to 31.5 cents per share. The toll road operator reported record proportional toll revenue of $3.3 billion, up 26% from FY22.
Australia's biggest bank share Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) will pay a 14% higher final dividend of $2.40 per share. CBA reported a cash NPAT of $10,164 million, up 6%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are known for delivering stable streams of passive income. Shopping centre specialist REIT Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) has upped its final distribution in FY23. It will pay 6.25 cents per share, a rise of just under 10%, amid reporting a statutory NPAT of $271.5 million.
What about dividends in FY24?
Plenty of companies are declining to offer FY24 guidance due to economic uncertainty.
Many retailers and other businesses exposed to softening consumer spending trends are unlikely to pay higher dividends in FY24 if their profits fall.
They say it takes 12 months for the first interest rate rise to impact consumer behaviour.
It's been 15 months since that first rate rise in May 2022, and the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics today shows a third consecutive month of reduced discretionary spending in June.
However, several brokers have offered their FY24 dividend predictions for the ASX 200 bank shares.
Brokers are also recommending these ASX shares for passive income in FY24 after their full-year reports.
