Bumper payouts from the big four banks as well as from Telstra Corp, BHP Billiton and Woodside Petroleum mean the Australian equity market continues to punch above its weight as a contributor to a global pool of dividends, which is tipped to hit $US1.24 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in 2015.
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Worldwide, banks and oil producers are the biggest contributors to dividends, while the technology sector offers the fastest growth in dividends.
"Globally, investors should reap $US133 billion more in dividends this year than last," Henderson Global Investors head of global equity income Alex Crooke said.
The latest quarterly Henderson Global Dividend Index (HGDI), to be released on Monday, shows that listed companies worldwide paid out a total of $US288.1 billion in dividends over the three months to September 30, a new third-quarter record. The index now sits at 159.9 points, 10 per cent higher than one year earlier.
"This year will break a new record for global dividends. Despite the uncertain outlook for economic growth in 2015, we expect another good year of dividend growth, albeit at a slower rate than this year," Mr Crooke said.
The HGDI report predicts that $US1.19 trillion in dividends will be paid out globally in 2014, with this figure tipped to rise to $US1.24 trillion in 2015.
Australian stocks flying high
A look at the list of the world's top 20 dividend-paying stocks confirms that the S&P/ASX 200 Index punches well above its weight, relative to its size, as a high-yielding market.
For the quarter ended September 30, four of the top 20 dividend-paying stocks were Australian. Westpac Banking Corp ranked fourth, followed by ANZ Banking Group in ninth place. BHP took the 11th spot, while Telstra ranked 18th.
In Australia, the restructuring of the Lowy family's Westfield empire and the fact that Westpac did not repeat its special dividend paid in the third quarter of 2014 dampened the rate of growth in dividends.
Once those one-off issues are factored in, the report found that Australian dividend payments rose by 7.3 per cent during the quarter, with the banks, BHP and Woodside making the biggest increases.
The report found that financial services was the highest-yielding sector globally, responsible for $US70.3 billion, or more than 25 per cent of the total value of dividends paid, with 12.1 per cent growth from the previous year.
Oil was the next biggest sector, yielding $US42.8 billion worth of dividends, up 9.3 per cent year on year.
Tech sector one to watch
But the sector to watch for dividend growth is technology. Technology was the third-biggest contributor to global dividends last quarter, paying out $US22.4 billion, an increase of 19.4 per cent from one year earlier.
The HGDI value for technology was 242.1 in the September quarter, compared to 159.9 for the broader market.
"Over the last few years the technology sector has significantly out-paced the wider market for dividend growth," Mr Crooke said.
The No. 1 stock globally for dividend distributions last quarter was China Construction Bank Corp, followed by Gazprom in second place and China Mobile in third. Headline growth in dividends last quarter was a relatively modest 3.8 per cent, due to a dip in the value of special dividend payments.
However, after accounting for currency movements and one-off payments, regular dividend growth for the September quarter was up by 9.7 per cent, the private survey found.
Equity markets in the United States, Europe, emerging markets, and the Asia-Pacific region all posted double-digit dividend growth, while slower rates of dividend growth in Britain, Canada and Japan dragged the global average down.
