Dividends to rise in 2010 on 2009 cuts

BIG FIVE

Nearly half of all dividends in 2009 were paid by BP, Royal Dutch Shell, HSBC , Vodafone and GlaxoSmithKline , Capita Registrars said.

About 200 companies cut their dividend last year and more than a third of them paid no dividend, while 179 raised their payouts and 60 held them steady.

Capita Registrars said cyclical companies, which fare worse in a recession, cut their dividends by 25 percent, while defensives, which are better to withstand economic conditions, raised their payouts by 5 percent.

Nevertheless, shares in cyclical firms including miners, carmakers and financials were the darling of investors last year, rebounding sharply after being hammered in 2008 as the deterioration in the global economy stabilised.

Shares in defensives, such as drugmakers, telecoms and utilities, underperformed in 2009.

(Editing by Will Waterman)