Despite having less financial flexibility than their main market peers, AIM dividend payers were no more likely to cut payouts during the first year of the pandemic and have been rebounding strongly since the second quarter of 2021.
Between April 2020 and March 2021 (the first four quarters of the pandemic) AIM payouts fell 40.4%, slightly better than the 41.6% decline on the main market, according to the annual AIM Dividend Monitor from Link Group. In fact, AIM dividends fell back to a level last seen in 2016, but wider market payouts declined to 2011 levels. However, the only sector to see an increase in the worst period of the pandemic was the defensive basic consumer goods group. Over the first four quarters of the pandemic, just one AIM company in five paid a dividend, much less than the typical one in three...
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