Earnings season for the calendar fourth quarter has finally concluded, and we’ve now seen the results for all of our Dividend Champions. In Canadian Edge Weekly, we provided analysis of each earnings report shortly after it was announced. In summary, we were pleased with how our holdings performed overall.

The Dividend Champions had another good quarter, with all our companies maintaining or increasing their dividends compared to a year ago. The average dividend increase was 6%, providing adequate protection against inflation for investors who depend on their portfolios to generate current income.

The table below summarizes the range of dividend growth experienced across the Dividend Champions Portfolio.

Companies that are unable to grow their dividends faster than the rate of inflation are most at risk of losing value if interest rates rise to much higher levels for a sustained period. High-yielding stocks with no dividend growth are effectively proxies for bonds, so they tend to move in tandem with the major benchmarks for fixed-income securities.

We currently hold seven stocks with slow-growing dividends, including companies that will resume dividend growth once energy prices have sufficiently recovered. This group includes Finning International Inc. (TSX: FTT, OTC: FINGF) and ShawCor Ltd. (TSX: SCL, OTC: SAWLF).

We were pleasantly surprised when energy producer Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX: SU, NYSE: SU) decided to raise its dividend for the first time since September 2015.

Another positive surprise came from retailer North West Co. Inc. (TSX: NWC, OTC: NWTUF), which likewise announced its first dividend increase since September 2015. The company is in the process of ramping up spending to revamp its Canadian retail outlets and also recently made an acquisition that pressured cash flow.

K-Bro Linen Inc. (TSX: KBL, OTC: KBRLF) reported subpar results and maintained its dividend, which hasn’t grown since 2014. The business has immediate capital needs to finance expansion, leaving little room for dividend growth. It now seems likely that the dividend will remain unchanged in 2017 and perhaps even in 2018. However, profit and dividend growth could be strong from 2019 onward.

RioCan REIT’s (TSX: REI-U, OTC: RIOCF) distribution growth has been stagnant since 2012, so it’s probably our only real problem child for now. The real estate investment trust (REIT) still has to fill the profit hole left by the sale of the U.S. business, while revenue from plans to develop residential properties is still a long way off. Despite RioCan’s high-quality portfolio, we are reconsidering our position.

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (TSX: NWH-U, OTC: NWHUF) announced good results, but no increase in the distribution. The REIT’s property portfolio is in the midst of fundamental change, with management undertaking a number of dispositions, acquisitions, and capital-raising exercises. Therefore, we do not expect distribution growth to occur soon.

The dividend details of our Dividend Champions are listed in the table below.