Chunky payouts from the energy and financial sectors helped drive global dividend payments to a record $US544.8 billion ($775.9 billion) in the June quarter, as companies rewarded shareholders despite theeconomic challenges on the horizon.

The fresh quarterly peak in dividend payments marked an 11.3 per cent surge from the prior three-month period, according to the Janus Henderson Dividend Index. Accounting for currency moves for the quarter that included a jump in the value of the US dollar, the underlying growth in dividends was even stronger at 19.1 per cent higher than the prior quarter.