OREANDA-NEWS. In the second quarter of the current year, the total amount of dividends paid worldwide was 382 billion US dollars, the lowest since 2012.

This is reported by the newspaper Financial Times with reference to the calculations of the British investment company Janus Henderson. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, the volume of paid dividends decreased by 108 billion dollars, or 22 %. This was the most significant decline since 2009, when the company began to make such calculations. The sharp cut in dividends or even the refusal to pay them was an attempt of enterprises to save funds amid a general slowdown in sales and profits caused by coronavirus pandemic.

According to Janus Henderson, total second-quarter dividends fell in every region of the world except North America (since Canadian companies, unlike American, were able to afford not to cut dividends). Europe and Great Britain are called the most affected regions.

According to the baseline scenario, Janus Henderson expects that in 2020 the total amount of paid dividends may decrease by 19 %, according to the unfavourable scenario by 25 %.