ASX mining shares inevitably come to mind when we think of the Australian share market's top dividend payers.
Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) are among the world's largest mining organisations, and they're market darlings for passive income investors.
These companies' high levels of production year after year ensure very solid dividend payouts for investors, even when commodity prices aren't particularly high.
So, it's not surprising that ASX mining shares are featured in the latest Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index report.
The asset manager's Global Dividend Index is a long-term study of global dividend trends.
Every quarter, Janus Henderson analyses how much is paid out in dividends from the 1,200 largest organisations by market capitalisation.
Janus Henderson just published its latest quarterly report covering the third quarter of 2024 (3Q CY24).
Let's check it out.
2 ASX mining shares among world's best dividend payers
Global dividend payouts totalled a record US$431.1 billion in 3Q CY24, up 3.1% year over year.
Janus Henderson found that 88% of companies increased their dividend payouts during the quarter.
Banks and media (including internet media) companies contributed the largest share of growth.
Dividend payments declined in some industries, with mining and transport recording the biggest falls.
Janus Henderson noted that more than one-third of miners worldwide reduced their dividend payouts.
Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) and Glencore PLC (LSE: GLEN) made the biggest dividend cuts.
Despite the cuts, plenty of miners feature in the top 20 dividend payers among the 1,200 companies analysed in 3Q CY24.
They include two ASX mining shares: Rio Tinto in 12th place and Fortescue in 19th place.
The top 20 also included two ASX bank shares.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares placed sixth, and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares placed 20th.
What else happened in 3Q CY24?
There were record quarterly dividend payouts in China, India, and Singapore.
India saw strong growth across a broad range of companies, whereas China's growth was much more concentrated.
US dividends rose by 10%, boosted by new dividend payers like Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
In the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan region, total dividends fell in Australia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Annual dividends as of the end of 3Q 2024 totalled US$68.5 billion.
This was down 9.9% year over year on a headline basis and down 6.8% on an underlying basis.
The third quarter of the year is the seasonal peak for dividend payments in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan region. More than two-fifths of annual dividends are paid between July and September.
In terms of Australia specifically, US$18 billion in dividends were paid out in 3Q CY24. This equates to an annual headline dividend growth rate of 6.8% but an underlying growth rate of (0.8%).
Janus Henderson's analysis was as follows:
A stronger Australian dollar boosted the headline growth rate along with a one-off special dividend from Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) … but the underlying picture was down 0.8%.
One in seven Australian companies in our index made cuts, the largest of which came from Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) whose profits are sharply lower owing to the impact of more stable energy markets on its commodity trading business and less income from selling green energy assets.
Commonwealth Bank's 4.1% increase made the largest positive contribution.
Janus Henderson maintains its prediction of 6.4% annual growth in global dividend payouts for 2024.
