Euro Dividend All-Stars

Inspired by David Fish’s US and Trevor Witten’s UK Dividend Champions lists, No More Waffles is home to the Euro Dividend All-Stars. While there’s a ton of information out there in the dividend growth investing community on North-American and UK companies, extensive records of European dividend growers were lacking in the past. By keeping a regularly updated list here, we try to rectify that.

Of course, compiling an overview of Europe’s best of the best when it comes to dividends is no simple task. As such, the list below should be viewed as a work in progress. Mistakes can and do happen. A lot of companies will also be missing.

That’s why I invite you to provide me with feedback, either by commenting below or by sending me an e-mail, so I can continue to improve the spreadsheet. We all benefit from a correct list of European Dividend Champions after all.

The focus here lies solely on those companies that operate in countries that have adopted the pan-European Euro as their official currency. As such, European countries like Switzerland, Norway, or Sweden don’t make an appearance, even though they are also home to some excellent dividend champions.

 

Download

The Euro All-Stars List comes in two varieties: you can opt to download a Microsoft Office Excel document or view a live and automatically updated Google Sheets webpage. My goal is to keep monthly updates, so be sure to check back regularly.

 

Archives

 

Why not call it a Dividend Champions list?

Although it makes sense to adopt the terminology applied by David Fish and used by so many of you, the truth is that I’ve confirmed only a couple of European companies that have maintained or increased dividends for more than 25 years. On top of that, it’s nearly impossible to track the dividend streaks of European companies for more than 14 years even though the actual years of dividend increases could be much higher.

Because the Euro was only introduced on January 1st, 1999, many corporations started reporting in the new pan-European currency in fiscal year 1999 only. As such, it’s often hard to track incremental dividend payouts past the year 2000. On top of that, many European stock exchanges have been part of a consolidation movement, rendering historical information unavailable.

That’s why I’ve decided to make one large list of All-Stars instead of following the typical categorisation of Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers. The All-Stars list does allow you to filter based on the years of increased dividends, however.

 

Special thanks

In no particular order I would like to thank these people for their support, and insightful comments and additions to the list: Trevor from Dividend Life, Righ Neighbour, Mark, ThomasDV, Mark from Bite-sized income, Pollie, Lars, Christian H., and Philip.

92 Comments

    1. Mark,

      I noticed increased traffic coming from SA a couple of days ago – thank you very much! I have added your article to my reader and look forward to reading it soon.

      Best wishes,
      NMW

        1. DGI,

          Thank you for the list of names!

          Sadly most of them are based in Switzerland in CHF and not Euros, which means they don’t qualify for this list. It seems I’ll have to start another list soon with Swiss and Scandinavian countries! 🙂

          I’ll look into Luxotica. Seems like a solid dividend grower apart from a small dip in 2008.

          Best wishes,
          NMW

          1. That’s my bad, I should have read that your list shows European Dividend Stocks quoted in “euros” not franks, kroner, zloty, ruble etc.

            So maybe you can start that list that includes ALL companies headquartered in Europe that have raised dividends for at least 5 years in a row? ( any country with a presence in Europe could qualify, so potentially Turkey or Russia as well)

    1. Nigekelly,

      Glad you find the list useful! I hope to make it better over time, so if you have any advice feel free to share.

      Cheers,
      NMW

  1. Swedish stocks with a history of increasing dividents for more then 25 years are, among others: Atlas Copco, Swedish Match and Svenska Handelsbanken. If you would like to update your list in the future 🙂

    1. Anders,

      Thank you for the suggestion! I have those three Swedish dividend aristocrats written down somewhere. Sadly this list only tracks companies that are listed in Euros. Maybe I’ll start a non-Euro European list (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, etc.) too when this one isn’t taking up as much time anymore.

      Happy investing,
      NMW

  2. Hello,
    interesting blog you have here. I’m also following David Fish’s dividend champions list and never found something similar for European stocks ;.. until now. Here’s a stock you can add to your list : Etex

    keep up the good work,
    cheers,
    Martin

    1. Martin,

      Thank you for the kind words! I hope you find the European version of David Fish’s list useful.

      I’ll definitely check out Etex and add them to the list if they apply for our dividend growth criteria.

      Best wishes,
      NMW

    1. Alessandro,

      Currently I’m keeping the focus of this list to stocks that are listed in Euro countries. At the moment I’ve got more than enough stock markets to cover already.

      If you’re looking for a great list of UK stocks, you should head over to Dividend Life’s blog: http://dividendlife.com/index.php/uk-dividend-champions-home/

      His list is exactly what you’re looking for – it’s a great tool!

      Cheers,
      NMW

  3. Ciao NMW,

    GDF SUEZ and ORANGE should also be added, if I spot more I will let you know. Great work by the way, I am an investor from Italy and I am quite glad to have stumbled upon your site, we have similar approaches and problems (see taxation) and your blog is a very good read.

    Keep up the good work!

    Ciao ciao

    Lorenzo

    1. Lorenzo,

      Thank you for your input, much appreciated!

      Could you point me towards the information for GDF Suez as I believe they reduced their payment not too long ago and haven’t increased it since?

      Same goes for Orange, I think: http://www.orange.com/en/investors/stock-dividend-and-capital

      Glad you like the work I’ve been putting into this list. Hope dividend growth investing is going well for you over there in Italy! I’ve read that you guys have quite a lot of taxes on dividends, is that right?

      Best of luck,
      NMW

  4. Ciao NMW,

    I managed to find this: http://www.dividendmax.co.uk/france/euronext-paris/telecomms/orange/dividends

    and this: http://www.dividendmax.co.uk/france/euronext-paris/electricity/gdf-suez-fr

    Doesn’t say much about the previous history (prior 2006) but it’s a start.

    To me these are two high yielding stocks, they have not been consistent with the payment increases, but I feel that in Europe is really really hard to find companies that stick to these policies, mostly because European investors are less attracted by dividends like it happens for example in the US and UK.

    As to the taxation issue, we have a flat 26% on dividends, but then anything that stays in the bank is also taxed at the end of the year 0,02% (just for the pleasure of having a bank account), but let’s leave the terrible Italian taxation….

    Keep up the good work if I find more stocks I will tell you, I have a couple of items on my radar from your list, and I am also trying to get info on European REITs, though it’s quite hard…

    ciao ciao

    Lorenzo

    1. Ciao Lorenzo,
      I’m an italian DGI too and, as you have described, taxation is very high here.
      I put great attention to this aspect when screening a new stock. Actually my portfolio is full of USA stocks but i want to deversify including italian and euro stocks too. For the last ones the choice is limited to Dutch stocks due lower taxation than other Countries (France and Germany have very high taxation rate). UK’s stocks are good too (no tax) but in this case we have the currency rate risk.
      How do you select your european stocks?
      Thanks

      1. Alex,

        If you’re mainly focussing on USA stocks because of taxation, don’t you have to pay the 15% withholding tax in the USA plus the 26% flat rate in Italy? That comes out at a little under 40% of withheld taxes, which is about the same for me for foreign shares.

        You should be able to get a reduced dividend withholding tax in France and Belgium of 15% too. Germany is a little bit trickier, but they offer a reduced tax too for other European investors.

        All in all, I don’t focus too much on taxes. If the net yield is decent and the business is solid, I’ll pull the trigger!

        Best wishes,
        NMW

    2. Lorenzo,

      Thank you for the information – I found the same numbers. As you can see for both Orange and GDF Suez the dividend payments have been going down the past few years. As such these companies do not belong on the All-Stars list as I try to include stocks that maintain and/or increase their dividends over time.

      You’re right that European companies have a different dividend policy than most North-American counterparts, but there are more than enough gems out there. That’s why I won’t include GDF and Orange here.

      Your dividend taxation closely resembles ours. We pay 25% on all incoming dividends, except those from REITs registered in Belgium (15%). If you’re looking for more REITs be sure to check out my analysis on Home Invest Belgium. Another good option would be Unibail-Rodamco (it’s also in the All-Stars list).

      Best of luck,
      NMW

      1. Ciao NMW,
        Yep actually you are totally right, they do not qualify for the Champions list, my bad. 😛 As to the REIT thanks for the advice, I’ll look into those, QE should be beneficial to these stocks (in theory) so I am on the lookout for some of them… 🙂
        When the next update of the list?

        Ciao ciao

        Lox

        1. Lorenzo,

          No problem, thank you for being on the lookout and helping me build the list! 🙂

          In the short-term QE is beneficial to REITs as they can borrow at low interest rates, but when interest rates go up again these businesses will come under pressure. Of course, a well managed REIT takes that into account. As you can see most REITs have seen huge growth the past few months, so I’m not sure you’ll find great value at this point in time.

          The next update will be in the beginning of May. I’ve been exceptionally busy at work and enjoying the good weather outside (hence the late reply), so not much time has gone into maintaining the list. I’m furthermore having a hard time finding more companies, but we’ll see where we end up.

          Best wishes,
          NMW

          1. Totally agree on your analysis, but the first entrance for me it’s low and let’s say “pegs” the stock. Plus dividends are coming through. So if I buy REIT now I do it knowing that they might go down massively when QE ends, but covers a hole in diversification so it’s ok. Plus normally they have very high yelds… 🙂

  5. Hi Alex,

    Actually I am on the lookout for European dividend “champions”, the problem that I am facing is that here in old Europe the whole dividend thing is a bit underrated, so I am focusing my research on the ADRs (the titles that are quoted in NYSE or NASDAQ) which “normally” have a dividend plan. Either than that I try to focus on companies that pay dividend but not necessarily a rising dividend. I know that this is like a huge blasphemy to some people, but as long as the percentage is fine and the business is solid.

    Surely there are no Italian companies in my PF, and I am considering increasing the UK portion (do not care all that much about exchange rates, I use multicurrency services and the long run that I am trying to look for is not that much affected by forex fluctuations).

    How do you go about your investments? Any particular strategy?

    1. Lorenzo,

      Interesting to hear that you focus on buying ADRs instead of the stocks on the European exchanges. As they should pay the same dividend for a company, is there any particular reason for doing so?

      The UK is a godsend for many European investors: currency doesn’t fluctuate all that much and forex doesn’t matter over the long-run anyway, 0% taxes and solid dividend paying businesses.

      Cheers,
      NMW

      1. Actually it was just market timing, exchanged at 1,25 right before the dollar gained strength. In any case I do the research on the ADRs then if I can I buy them here in Europe 🙂
        Right now I have an extra exposure on Energy, but more for Tactic reasons. The “core” of the PF is quite low right now, but that’s just because I am waiting for some market trackback to mediate at higher yields. Unfortunately I have only started investing last December, so I know I bought “high”. Opportunities will come up when markets decide to take a little plunge 😛

        1. Lorenzo,

          Ah, that makes a lot more sense! Information on European stocks is sometimes hard to come by because of exchange merges and currency changes (Lira to Euro, for example).

          Don’t worry about “buying high”! When I first started stock markets were also at all-time highs… But look at my portfolio now, it’s up by a big margin again.

          Best of luck,
          NMW

  6. Hello,

    two more candidates for your list : Financiere de Tubize and Wendel

    happy investing,
    Martin

    1. Martin,

      Thank you for your input! I’ll look into the two companies in more detail, but they look solid at first glance. Look for them in the next update.

      Cheers,
      NMW

    1. FIRE v London,

      Good call on Daimler AG. I seem to have missed that one until now, probably because their dividend history isn’t great yet.

      BMW is already on the list under the full name “Bayerische Motoren Werke AG”!

      Thank you for helping out, much appreciated.

      Best wishes,
      NMW

  7. Hi NMW, have you already had a look at Fresenius Medical Care, SAP and Fielmann?
    I am not sure if Medtronic PLC is a company to consider for you. After the takeover of Covidien it has become Irish, but still pays quaterly dividends in US-Dollar.
    Another candidate could be the Swedish IT company Hexagon which pays its dividend in Euro.

    1. German DGI,

      Thank you for the suggestions! I believe Fresenius is part of the list already, but the others aren’t. I’ll look into them and add them if they apply for the criteria.

      CHeers,
      NMW

    1. Fish,

      Hope you find the list useful in your search for European dividend growth stocks!

      Over the past months I’ve been buying more and more European stocks because foreign shares have become increasingly expensive due to the Euro’s depreciation.

      Cheers,
      NMW

  8. Hi, NMW!
    Nice job!
    In your(excellent) list, Munich Re is a consumer defensive, i thinck it’s more à financial sector stock..
    In french equities, you maybe take a look to BIC,Rubis, and maybe Bollore…

    1. Yoshi,

      You’re right, these kind of anomalies persist in the list, but I’ll update them when I run across them.

      Thank you for the suggestions, I’ll look into them! The list remains a little light on French stocks.

      Best wishes,
      NMW

      1. Rubis pays with scrip dividend, I wasn’t able to find Bollore dividends on its website.

        But Bic qualifies: 7 years increasing, and 10 increasing or maintaining: http://www.bicworld.com/en/finance/the-BIC-share/ (I have picked more data from elsewhere, but can’t remember, most european companies only list a few years. Only if some where like Generali listing dividends since 1863… http://www.generali.com/investors/share-information-analysts/dividends.html).

    1. Mati,

      I’m working on an updated version, but it takes a lot of time – time that I currently do not have! I’ll try publish a new list asap.

      Cheers,
      NMW

  9. Hi, what do you think about Kinepolis (KIN)? I see a nice div growth rate and a low p/e.

    1. Allessandro,

      I’m a believer of Kinepolis’ business model, so that’s why I’ve added them to my portfolio as you can see. They’ve been expanding for a while now and it seems they’ll continue doing so for the foreseeable future as a way to increase earnings.

      Don’t focus too much on the Google Finance information for KIN though, it seems like the earnings per share are off. In 2014 EPS were 1.34 instead of what Google Finance shows. I believe it has to do with the stock split back in 2014.

      Still, overall Kinepolis is a solid long-term dividend play in the cyclical consumer space.

      Cheers,
      NMW

  10. Hi NMW!

    Just stumbled upon your site today, and I have to say you have a great list!

    I noticed you had a few Finnish companies on there, but you might want to consider a few more: you’ll find them on this advertising page by a Nordic broker, it’s in Finnish but the companies are listed at the bottom of the page along with their recent dividend histories – https://www.nordnet.fi/kampanjat/kaupankaynti/osinkoaristokraatit.html

    You could also consider adding Nordea Bank AB, which is based in Sweden but listed in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki. The shares in Helsinki are traded in euros and the dividend is paid in euros, so I guess it could qualify as a euro company.

    Cheers

    1. Said,

      Thank you very much for your valuable input! I’ll be sure to take it into consideration when I update the list – hopefully soon.

      If you find any more good dividend stocks, be sure to let us know here in the comments!

      Cheers,
      NMW

  11. Hi NMW, just came across your list and saw that Austria is completely missing.
    You might want to check out the following stocks (Name – ISIN):
    Mayr-Melnhof – AT0000938204
    Vienna Insurance Group – AT0000908504
    Austrian Post – AT0000APOST4
    Do & Co – AT0000818802

    1. BD,

      Exactly! I haven’t had the time to look at Austrian companies yet, mainly because it’s hard to find accurate information on them through my broker.

      I’ll definitely look into the stocks you recommend and add them to the list if they qualify.

      Thank you very much,
      Cheers,
      NMW

    1. Brendan,

      Last time I checked Banco Santander reduced its dividend not too long ago, but I’ll double check just to be sure when the next update of the list hits.

      Cheers,
      NMW

      1. Santander pays with scrip dividend. I am not sure if that is blocker to make into the list, but for me it is. Just sharing to keep people informed.

  12. Really a great list. It has been very useful to getting to know European dividend companies. The comments and replies are also a great source of research. It was very pleasant to stumble upon your site. Keep your good job. Cheers

    1. Eduardo,

      Thank you for the kind words! And I truly hope this list is useful, even though I really need to update it soon. It’s becoming outdated.

      Best of luck,
      NMW

  13. Hi NMW,

    I have a new recommendation for you and your readers: have a look at

    http://www.germandividendaristocrats.com

    I have compiled a list of all German companies who have been increasing and/or at least maintaining their distributions for 10 or more years.
    Hope you find it helpful and you don`t mind posting the link.

    Have a good week-end
    rickrack

    1. Rickrack,

      Great work! I’ll definitely look into all of them, add them to my list and refer back to your website in the articla when I do.

      Glad to see other people sharing their research and hard work!

      Best wishes,
      NMW

  14. Hi,
    regarding Spanish shares in the euro dividend all stars I recommend you to:

    – Drop Obrascon Huarte Lain SA (OHL) since in the last year is not behaving particularly well, and according to some people might cut down dividend.
    – Add Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A. (Abertis) See its remuneration in https://www.abertis.com/en/investors-relations/presence-in-the-stock-market/dividends-and-other-remuneration This company has increased its dividend (with some exceptions) for nearly 30 years, and combined with its policy of giving for free a new share per 20 old shares each year during the last 20 years (a 5% yearly increase, see https://www.abertis.com/en/investors-relations/presence-in-the-stock-market/the-share-and-the-share-capital/capital-evolution) this results on a consistently growing dividend all years for 30 years.
    – Consider adding Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) which has a high yield (more than 5% and if you buy cheap can go up to 9%) and also a high payout (the company has no debt and basically all earnings become dividend) http://www.bolsasymercados.es/ing/Shareholders-Investors/General-Inf/Dividends

    1. It is me,

      Thank you for the input, I’ll be sure to take it into consideration.

      Obrascon Huarte Lain has been dropped already in my newest version (not online anymore). I noticed their dividend cut and awful results a couple of months ago.

      Cheers,
      NMW

      1. It would be sensible on you to update the online version so people doesn’t get mislead by old data. Even if you clearly stated that it is not a recommendation list and people should check and buy on their own risk.

        I had duplicated your spreadsheet and already have collected the latest dividend payments, in case you want me to share in order to speed up the spreadsheet update.

    1. Perhaps you can post above the criteria used so we can quickly check if some of the companies we know actually qualify, so it is easier for you to check the new candidates.

    2. It is me,

      The level of yield doesn’t matter for this list since it’s not aimed at high dividend yield. What matters though is the fact that the companies consistently raise their dividends every year, or at least maintain them. Other than that it’s fair game.

      Cheers,
      NMW

      1. Thanks. I am looking through Portugal, Spain and Italy companies. It is difficult to find some that match those criteria, but found some of them.

        For example Vidrala http://www.vidrala.com/accionistas-e-inversores/informacion-general-acerca-de-la-sociedad/ has been consistently growing its dividend (yes, there is no list of dividends on Vidrala’s website, so you have to go through the “Hechos relevantes” documents checking for dividends, and it even only accounts for the most recent years so you have to check for the rest in CNMV’s website). One thing that worries me a bit about this enterprise is that the average volume of shares traded is very low (around 24,000 shares per day), so it makes me wonder if you have other restrictions for the list like capitalization, the traded volume, the Debt/EBITDA or any other.

        I am putting together a spreadsheet that I will share afterwards so you can see evolution for the enterprises I checked (though most of them don’t qualify at all, but at least you know that they don’t and you won’t check them). That way instead of me recommending companies you can check the data by yourself.

  15. I suggest you include the code for the specific stock market before the ticker in order to simplify the formulas.

    I also suggest you to simplify the names for the companies if possible, since everybody knows which company “BMW” is.

    I also suggest moving the “Dividend Growth Rate”, “Yield” and “Payout” columns on the right much closer to the left since it is the stuff you want to see (and filter on) when you open the spreadsheet.

    1. A note, it has only 5 years of growing dividends, but that is the whole history of dividends. In other words, it raised dividends all the years.

  16. Another one worth considering is Ebro Foods http://www.ebrofoods.es/en/information-for-shareholders-and-investors/general-information-on-the-company/dividends/ Note that there are only listed dividends for the last 2 years, but I checked on CNMV’s communications and it had increased dividend during the last 7 years (before that it maintained dividend during 2 years) and if you count maintained or increased dividend it goes back to 2003 (couldn’t get older records).

  17. Red Electrica had just made a split of 4 new shares per 1 old, after paying the latest dividend in year 2016.

  18. Another Portuguese company worth adding is REN (Redes Energéticas Nacionais) maintaining or increasing 8 years https://www.ren.pt/en-GB/investidores/dividendos/ This is the Portuguese TSO (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_system_operator) for electricity and natural gas grids. Dividend barely increases, but it is high yield, like the other Portuguese company in the list (EDP). And after my scan of Portuguese companies these are the only two that qualify, until someone with greater knowledge can point to some other.

  19. More Spanish enterprises:

    – DIA: Only paid dividend for 5 years, but it had increased at least 10% yearly http://www.diacorporate.com/en/shareholders-investors/the-share/dividends-and-shares-redemption/
    – Técnicas Reunidas: Has slightly decreased dividend in last year (-0.0079%) probably because of what happened with petroleum, but if we leave that out it had increased or maintained for 10 years http://www.tecnicasreunidas.es/en/shareholders-and-investors-information/stock-information/dividends/
    – Gas Natural Fenosa: Decreased 2 times in 17 years, increased last 6 years (There are rumors about it paying scrip dividend starting next year) http://www.gasnaturalfenosa.com/en/shareholders+and+investors/shares+and+equity/1285338473299/dividends+.html
    – Mapfre: Decreased 2 times (including 2016) in 13 years https://www.mapfre.com/corporate/institutional-investors/shareholder/dividends/
    – Catalana Occidente: Decreased 3 times in 14 years http://www.grupocatalanaoccidente.com/en/accionistas-e-inversores/general-information/dividendos/

    But much better enterprises have been already reported: Abertis, Amadeus, Ebro Foods, Vidrala, Viscofan, BME…

    1. D4F,

      After the 2017 European dividend season is over I’ll probably make an updated version!

      Cheers,
      NMW

  20. Hi NMW,

    Great list, any news on an updated one?

    If any Italian friends are still reading, could you point to any online resources that provide tax information for a dividend investor operating from Italy?

    I am new to this and any tips are appreciated.

    Best,

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