The year 2022 has brought some catastrophes.

Above all, the war in Ukraine caused a lot of suffering and misery.

Economic turmoil made food and raw materials significantly more expensive.

The annual reports and quarterly statements presented so far show that this has not only happened to the detriment of the companies.

Despite the difficult economic environment and great uncertainty, many companies were still able to do good business.

They were able to pass on higher costs, for example for energy, in the form of higher prices.

Daniel Mohr

Editor in Business.

  • Follow I follow

It became apparent early on that this would lead to record sales in 2022.

However, it remained unclear to what extent the higher costs could possibly weigh on profits.

However, it is now becoming apparent that profits in 2022 are also likely to have reached record levels.

From this, the analysts of the banks deduce that record profit distributions to the owners can also be expected.

The average estimate of the analysts adds up to a total dividend of 55 billion euros for the 40 Dax companies, which will flow to the accounts of the shareholders from February for the 2022 financial year.

The previous record from 2022 for the 2021 financial year would be exceeded by around 4 billion euros.

In 2020 and 2021, only around 35 billion euros were distributed due to the uncertainties of the corona pandemic.

In the pre-Corona year 2019 it was almost 40 billion euros.

Dividends are an important part of stock returns.

Over the long term, it accounts for about half of returns, with price gains accounting for the other half.

The dividend is the much more stable part of the return.

In relation to the share price, based on the dividend estimates, there is currently a yield of 3.2 percent from dividends.

The differences within the Dax are enormous.

Despite all the challenges, the big earners in German industry are still the car companies.

Mercedes-Benz defended its place at the top of the dividend payout and, according to analyst estimates, should again pay out 5 euros per share and thus a total of 5.3 billion euros.

At 7.6 percent, the dividend yield is also top of the list for the Dax.

The capital markets continue to have serious doubts about the ability of the German automotive industry to defend its leading position in the age of electric driving.

Conversely, significantly lower prices than, for example, that of the electric car pioneer Tesla ensure high dividend yields.

In terms of the payout, only Allianz breaks into the phalanx of Mercedes, BMW and VW.

The insurer has been convincing for years with reliable and high distributions and a dividend yield of a good 5 percent.

Not included in our overview is the special dividend that Volkswagen will pay out to its shareholders next week because of the high income from the IPO of the subsidiary Porsche.

The 19.06 euros per share and the sum of a good 9.5 billion euros exceed all total dividends and dividend yields that have ever existed in the Dax.

Most Dax companies increase the dividend

About 30 of the 40 Dax companies are likely to increase their payouts this year.

Siemens traditionally starts things off.

The financial year ends in September, and the Annual General Meeting will take place on February 9th - again purely virtual.

A slightly higher dividend is planned at EUR 4.25 per share after EUR 4 previously.

The shareholders of Siemens Energy will meet (virtually) two days earlier, but no dividend is planned for them.

The turbine manufacturer is the only currently foreseeable Dax group that completely cancels its distribution.

Qiagen and Zalando are also likely to stick to the tradition of not making any distributions to their shareholders despite corporate profits.