The number of companies that will pay an interim dividend has fallen to its lowest level in two years despite an above average number of businesses reporting profit rises.
About 88 per cent of Australia's top 200 listed companies paid a dividend to shareholders during the first-half earnings season, new figures from CommSec show.
Of the 142 ASX200 companies that reported a result during the February earnings season, 94 per cent reported a profit, with only eight companies posting losses during the first half of the 2017 financial year.
And 69 per cent of those 142 companies lifted profit which was above the normal proportion of 60 per cent.
CommSec chief economist Craig James says despite the strong profit growth, 88 per cent is the smallest proportion of companies to declare dividends in two years.
This was also down from the record 92 per cent of companies that gave shareholders a payout during the full-year reporting period that ended last June.
"In recent earnings seasons, companies have been almost falling over themselves in the rush to pay out dividends to shareholders," Mr James said.
"And while some companies remain keen to pay out dividends, others have also been keen to pay down debt levels, to reduce risk and provide some flexibility to respond to opportunities in 2017."
He said there was no longer a single-mindedness to pay a dividend.
Over the period from March to July, more than $22 billion will be paid to shareholders as dividends.
In the interim earnings season a year ago, dividend payouts totalled around $19 billion.
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