Revealed: 10 UK stocks that have increased dividends by at least 50% in 2024

healthcare needle increased shareholder payouts more than any FTSE 350 company in 2024, as 10 companies bucked a weaker dividend trend with increases of more than 50 per cent.

The FTSE 250 private healthcare provider announced a total dividend of 2.1 pence per share for 2024, a whopping 320 per cent more than last year’s effort of 0.5 pence per share.

Payouts from London-listed companies have generally weakened in 2024 as the major mining sector has been forced to cut dividends amid weaker demand for raw materials amid weaker economic growth.

Spire is one of ten UK-listed companies to have more than halved their dividend payments in 2024, new analysis from AJ Bell shows.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: “Having suspended dividend payments during the pandemic, the company is now in the process of playing catch-up.”

‘Dividend growth effectively means the company is putting a rubber stamp on its prospects, implying that all is well. In fact, Spire said its big dividend increase reflects “confidence in the long-term prospects of the business.”

During the pandemic, and the economic headwinds that followed, many companies suspended their dividends as a result of the difficulties they faced following a slowdown in business.

Coatsworth said some of the larger increases declared in 2024 “need to be seen in the context of rebuilding the payment to a sustainable level.”

Both EasyJet and IT fluid systems They increased their dividends by 169 per cent, with EasyJet paying 12.1 pence per share, with analysts predicting this could rise to 14.7 pence in 2025 and 15.8 pence in 2026.

Meanwhile, GSK’s consumer spinoff haleon increased his pay by 150 percent and Park Plaza, and the owner of art’otel PPHE Hotels saw its dividend grow by 140 percent.

The hotelier paid a dividend of 36 pence per share and could increase it further to 46.1 pence in 2025, according to market forecasts.

Coatsworth said: ‘Dividends are a key component of successful investing, whether taken as income to support retirement or reinvested to boost future returns. A key advantage over cash is that companies tend to increase their dividends each year, while interest rates on savings in the bank tend to be fixed.’

While only these five companies more than doubled their payouts, five others increased their dividends by more than half, with HSBC notably increasing its dividend by 91 per cent, from 42.4p to 64.6p.

Coatsworth added: “Many banks now pay higher dividends than before the pandemic, thanks to a sharp rise in interest rates helping to boost their profits.”

These higher dividends are a result of these banks charging more for loans, which helps increase their profits and cash flow.

He said: ‘It’s worth noting that these figures are based solely on normal dividends. HSBC has also paid a special dividend, financed by the sale of its banking operations in Canada.

Standard Chartered also made the list, increasing its dividend by 50 percent, while Georgia-based TBC Bank and British firm Paragon Banking increased their dividends by 31 percent.

This dividend growth, calculated between January and December 1, does not include extraordinary dividends paid by any of these companies. HSBC also paid a special dividend after selling its Canadian banking operations.