The dividend outlook may be slightly cloudier than it once was, but UK income investors are still set fair this year.
For the FTSE 100 as a whole, headline full-year dividend payments are forecast to be flat or even slightly down on 2024, courtesy of a trio of headwinds. But the majority of the biggest payers in the index are operationally healthy and have seen their share prices flourish in the year to date.
The average 2025 total return for companies listed in the table below is 20 per cent. That has pushed down dividend yields for the group – the typical trailing yield of 4.6 per cent compares with an average forward yield of 4.2 per cent – but they remain well in advance of the 3.3 per cent offered by the index.