Companies that pay high dividend yields are great, but it's also important to consider whether those dividends are sustainable.
Two of the companies I'm looking at today are infrastructure or infrastructure-like companies, typified by long contracts that provide income certainty.
That gives investors some certainty that the business, if managed well, can make long-term forecasts for its income and liabilities and, hopefully, keep its dividend payments steady.
Let's look at the companies I've selected that currently pay solid dividends.
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Aurizon Ltd (ASX: AZJ)
Rail operator Aurizon is currently paying a 6.18% dividend yield, 90% franked.
The company's shares are also up about 18% over the past year, despite a recent dip after the announcement of its results.
After releasing its results, Aurizon announced a new $250 million share buyback, following a buyback completed during FY26.
The company grew EBITDA last financial year by 9% to $1.72 billion, and paid out 90% of its net profit as dividends.
Aurizon is expecting to pay 23 cents to 24 cents per share in dividends this year, which would be a 6.4% dividend yield at the current share price.
Atlas Arteria Ltd (ASX: ALX)
This toll road operator faced a takeover bid during the year, which contributed to the company posting a net loss. However, apart from that, the company described its performance as stable.
Brokers expect Atlas to maintain its distribution at 40 cents per share, in line with current-year guidance, which yields 8.7%.
The company itself said it will no longer provide guidance for dividend payments beyond a one year period.
The company added:
Going forward, we will continue to focus on optimising free cash flow to drive strong distributions. Distributions will align with free cash flow by maintaining the distribution policy to pay 90–110% of free cash flow on a full-year basis.
Regal Partners Ltd (ASX: RPL)
Financial services company Regal Partners is currently paying a very healthy dividend yield of 11.1%, after more than doubling its net profit over the past financial year.
The company's Managing Director Brendan O'Connor said their balance sheet was "exceptionally strong", with $290 million in capital on hand after the payment of the dividend, along with excess franking credits.
Mr O'Connor said at the time:
I also note the investment landscape continues to evolve rapidly, shaped by an artificial intelligence fuelled capital expenditure boom, shifting geopolitical dynamics, the proposed removal of the capital gains tax discount regime, and persistent inflation. Against this backdrop, we are seeing growing demand for income-oriented products and look forward to launching our Multi-Strategy Income Fund in September. More broadly, we believe our suite of alternative strategies is very well placed to meet client needs in this environment.
