Dozen FTSE 100 stocks promise dividends in January
After splashing out on Christmas gifts and festivities, a multi-billion-pound windfall from these blue-chip dividend stocks will help replenish investors’ coffers.
31st December 2024 11:50
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
Dividend payments by GSK (LSE:GSK) and National Grid (LSE:NG.) will account for half the £2.8 billion due to be distributed by 12 FTSE 100 companies in the first month of 2025.
The third-largest sum is from Primark and British Sugar owner Associated British Foods (LSE:ABF), which is handing over another special dividend as part of an award worth £508 million.
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Next (LSE:NXT) and Marks & Spencer Group (LSE:MKS) are also in the calendar along with property groups Land Securities Group (LSE:LAND) and British Land Co (LSE:BLND), whose shares currently trade with dividend yields above 6%.
The National Grid dividend is January’s largest at £774 million, having grown in size from the previous year’s £716 million.
But with one billion more shares in issue following last summer’s £7 billion fundraising, the headline per share figure on 14 January is 15.84p compared with 19.4p last year.
The year-on-year difference for shareholders will depend on whether they took the opportunity in the rights issue to buy seven new discounted shares for every 24 they already owned.
Under its new five-year framework, National Grid has pledged to continue benchmarking the dividend against the increase in average annual CPI plus housing costs.
This means the payment is protected in real terms, having achieved a 30% higher total shareholder return compared with the FTSE 100 over the last decade.
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GSK is due to distribute £612 million through the 9 January payment of 15p a share, which compares with the 14p a share handed over last year.
The company has already said that it expects the total for the year to be 60p, which is based on a policy equivalent to 40-60% of earnings.
The latest distribution follows a frustrating end to 2024 for shareholders, as headwinds for vaccines Arexvy and Shingrix offset relief over the end of long-running Zantac litigation and the company’s stronger earnings guidance.
Associated British Foods is planning a bumper payday on 10 January after declaring a special dividend of 27p a share alongside a final dividend of 42.3p a share.
Having paid an interim dividend of 20.7p, the total of 90p for the 2023/24 financial year is 50% higher than the previous year’s 60p.
The company’s distribution of surplus capital also led to £565 million of share buybacks, with another £500 million due before the end of the current financial year.
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Next is also using its surplus to reduce the number of shares in issue, while another strong half-year trading performance means the interim dividend for payment on 3 January has increased to 75p a share from 66p the year before.
Marks & Spencer has kept the award scheduled for 10 January the same at 1p a share or £20 million, having paid its first dividend in four years the previous January.
The distribution, which represents one-third of last year’s total dividend, comes as M&S continues to focus its cash allocation on investing in the retailer’s transformation.
“Cash flow which cannot be invested at our targeted returns will be returned to shareholders over time,” it said in November’s half-year results.
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In the property sector, the 9.4p a share second interim dividend from Land Securities on 8 January is in line with the MediaCity and Piccadilly Lights owner’s guidance for low single digit percentage growth across the year.
It trades with a dividend yield of 6.9%, which compares with British Land on 6.3% ahead of its distribution of 12.4p a share on 15 January. The award is up 1% on last year.
Company | Payment date | Current dividend yield (%) |
03-Jan | 1.9 | |
03-Jan | 2.1 | |
08-Jan | 6.9 | |
09-Jan | 4.3 | |
10-Jan | 1.7 | |
10-Jan | 3.6 | |
10-Jan | 0.8 | |
10-Jan | 4.6 | |
10-Jan | 2.9 | |
14-Jan | 6.1 | |
15-Jan | 6.3 | |
24-Jan | 1.2 |
Source: interactive investor, ShareScope. Data as at 12 December 2024.
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