Global dividends fell by 6.7 per cent year-on-year on a headline basis to $404.9bn (£258.5bn) in the second quarter of 2015, according to figures from Henderson Global Investors.
The figures from the latest Henderson Global Dividend Index marked the third consecutive quarterly decline, though the decrease was predominantly because of falls in global currencies against the US dollar.
European dividends fell by 14.3 per cent to $133.7bn for the quarter on a headline basis.
The second quarter is dominated by Europe excluding the UK, because this period accounts for some two thirds of the region’s annual dividends.
In the UK dividends fell by a headline 1.7 per cent, while Japanese dividends dropped by a headline 7.1 per cent.
However US companies enjoyed headline dividend growth of 10 per cent, marking a sixth consecutive quarter of double digit increases.
