I think that there are some really good ASX dividend shares out there that have impressive dividend records.
There are some companies that have grown their dividends for many years in a row, whilst others have been growing the dividend at a fast rate.
Here is the first one:
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
In my opinion, WHSP is the king of the dividend payers. That’s because it has increased its dividend every year for the past two decades in a row.
It also has another impressive record. WHSP has paid a dividend every year from when it listed over a century ago.
The ASX dividend share has a diversified portfolio of investments because it is now an investment house. It originally started as a pharmacy business.
Some of its investments includes TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), (ASX: PIA), Round Oak and agriculture. It’s the dividends and profit from its portfolio that pays for WHSP’s dividend.
At the current WHSP share price, it has a fully franked dividend yield of 1.8%.
WAM Microcap Limited (ASX: WMI)
WAM Microcap is a listed investment company (LIC) that invests in small businesses, typically ones with market capitalisations under $300 million.
I think it’s worthwhile looking at smaller companies because they often have very good growth potential, due to their smaller size, and they may be valued at a lower valuation because smaller companies are less followed. This gives the potential to achieve stronger returns over time.
WAM Microcap has done a very good job of capturing those returns. Since inception in June 2017, the WAM Microcap portfolio has delivered average returns per year of 25%. But that’s before fees, expenses and taxes, which does reduce the net figure materially.
Even so, the net returns have been strong enough for the ASX dividend share to pay normal dividends, special dividends and growing the underlying value of the company (that’s the net tangible assets (NTA)).
In FY21 the business increased its ordinary dividend by 33% to $0.08 per share. At the current WAM Microcap share price, that’s a fully franked yield of 3.9% and 5.5% including the franking credits.
The LIC also paid a special dividend of $0.04 per share, an increase of 33% of the special dividend from FY20.
WAM Microcap has been growing its ordinary dividend every year since FY18 when it first initiated paying dividends and paid an annual ordinary dividend of $0.04 per share. So the dividend has doubled since then.
