The FTSE 100 is forecast to deliver a total cash return to shareholders of £114 billion in 2022.
£81.2 billion in forecast dividends plus £32.7 billion in share buybacks already announced.
That would make 2022 the second-best year ever for cash returns from the FTSE 100 and there are still 9 months to go in which additional dividend increases, special dividends and share buybacks could be announced.
29 FTSE 100 firms have already announced share buy backs this year, putting the FTSE 100 on track to exceed the prior all-time high of £34.9 billion in 2018.
The FTSE 100’s net profits are expected to hit a record high of £169.7 billion in 2022, whilst UK consumers struggle with the cost of living.
Rio Tinto is expected to be the index’s single biggest dividend payer in 2022 with a payout of £7.4 billion.
Persimmon is forecast to offer the highest dividend yield of 11.2%. Dividend cover for the FTSE 100 is expected to exceed 2.0 times for the first time since 2013.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell comments: “The FTSE 100’s total dividend pay-out is expected to reach £81.2 billion in 2022, compared to £78.5 billion in 2021, equating to a yield of 3.9%. Total payments peaked at £85.2 billion in 2018 and 2022 is expected to get closer to that mark.
“Ninety-seven FTSE 100 firms are expected to pay a dividend in 2022, against 91 in 2021 and 85 in 2020, as corporate confidence continues to return after the pandemic.”
“The combination of £81.2 billion in forecast dividends and the already-announced £32.7 billion in buybacks means that 2022 could be the second best-year ever for cash returns from the FTSE 100 – and there are still nine months left for more buybacks and special dividends (of which there were £5.8 billion in 2021).
“The current £114 billion expected total has been exceeded just once, by 2018’s £127.5 billion (when ordinary dividends came to £85.2 billion, special dividends £7.4 billion and buybacks £34.9 billion).”
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