UK dividend payouts came within touching distance of £100 billion last year. At a time when many of us were trying to brave out the weak momentum that was pummelling prices across the board, payouts from income stocks actually stayed solid.
Overall, the record £99.8 billion total payout was up by 5.1 percent on 2017, according to Link Asset Services, which tracks UK dividends. That performance was driven by robust earnings growth, some special payouts that beat expectations and the effects of a fall in the value of sterling (which catalysed dividends paid in foreign