Investors have been told to brace for the “biggest hit to dividends in generations” after shareholder payouts plunged by almost £22 billion during the second quarter as companies conserved cash amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Dividends dropped by 57.2 per cent year-on-year to £16.1 billion in the three months to the end of June as 176 listed businesses abandoned returns to investors and a further 30 cut their payouts, according to research by Link Group.
Excluding special payouts to shareholders, dividends were down 50.2 per cent to £16 billion during the quarter. This is the largest fall ever recorded by Link and has made it the worst second quarter for dividends for a decade.
Susan Ring of Link warned that it “could take until 2026 for
