an investor looks at a board displaying stock prices at the australian securities exchange asx in sydney australia july 17 2017 reuterssteven saphore sydney sept 3 reuters  an australian earnings season bonanza for shareholders has masked a more uncertain outlook for the corporate sector as the delta covid variant threatens to tip an economy that was surging only months ago back into its second recession in as many years australianlisted companies delivered a record a38 billion 28 billion in promised dividends to investors in the season that ended this week driven by banks and mining companies however when it came to the corporate outlook companies had much less cheer to offer companies really pulled back on giving outlook statements given the uncertainties said brad potter the head of australian equities at tyndall asset management i think the resilience of the economy has been amazing but given the situation that were in i dont think anyone is particularly bullish earnings reported by australias top 200 companies in august for the 2021 year came in slightly above expectations eikon data shows even as covid19 threw most of the country into lockdown however with the delta variant and declines in commodity prices from record highs threatening to tip the economy into a recession buyside analysts and investors have downgraded earnings and dividend forecasts following a whopping 37 increase in aggregate reported earnings by the 156 companies covered by citigroup in fiscal 2021 the broker cut its forecast for fiscal 2022 by 29 to a124 billion that included a cut of about 5 for the banking sector due to soft core earnings prospects and about 4 for mining companies driven by sharp falls in iron ore prices dividend consensus expectations for the year also fell by about 31 according to jpmorgan it does seem that the upward revision momentum in the near term has slowed down credit suisse portfolio manager mike jenneke said that would still leave a very robust expectation of 16 growth in earnings by citi this fiscal year as vaccination rates amongst 25 million australians increase and pentup demand drives an earnings rebound in the second half particularly in the financials materials and consumer discretionary sectors by comparison reuters data showed profits at us firms are estimated to decline 72 in the third quarter after rising 124 in the second quarter read more on a calendar year basis global earnings are expected to grow 8 in 2022 after a 46 jump in 2021 according to credit suisse in australia over a18 billion worth of share buybacks have been announced on top of the 80 jump in dividends declared during the reporting season while record ma is expected to deliver an extra windfall theres a whole lot of cash that is going to be hitting investors bank accounts over the next few months from those dividends said hugh dive atlas funds management chief investment officer looking ahead is a bit uncertain even for the companies that have done very well and are tracking very strong numbers its going to be difficult for them to keep going diagnostics firm sonic healthcare shlax whose profit more than doubled to a13 billion declined to provide earnings guidance saying the pandemic had the potential to cause fluctuations in both covid19 testing revenues and the base business reporting by paulina duran in sydney editing by sam holmes