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The damage suffered by shareholders in the recession was laid bare today by research showing that the dividends paid by London-listed firms this year will hit just £52 billion, down 13% on last year.
British companies paid out £28.3 billion in the first six months of this year, nearly 10% lower than in the same period last year, according to share listing firm Capita Registrars.
Seventy more companies failed to pay out any level of dividend up to July this year than last, some because they had been taken over or gone out of business. Businesses that cut back the most were those in household goods and retailers (excluding supermarkets), which are expected to pay out 90% less than last year.
The banks cut dividends by only 29%, although the size of the sector meant that the total pay-out shrank from £13 billion in the first half of 2007 to £4 billion this year.
But investors in energy companies, food and drinks manufacturers, tobacco stocks, supermarkets and pharmaceuticals all received a bigger dividend this year. Paul Taylor, head of corporate advisory at Capita Registrars, said: “It appears there is little chance of any improvement until next year.”
