AB InBev today announced that it will reduce the amount of the final 2019 dividend from the proposed €1 to €0.50 per share.
The company has also postponed its annual shareholders’ meeting scheduled for 29 April to 3 June.
The world’s biggest brewer said “it would be prudent and in the best interests” of the company to revise the dividend proposal given the “uncertainty, volatility and continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
AB InBev in February forecast a two to five percent rise in 2020 operating profits despite a difficult first quarter owing to the virus outbreak, which has cost it $285 million (£226 million) in the first two months of 2020.
The firm has not given any update on its guidance, but said changes to its leadership team announced in early February will continue to be effective as of 29 April 2020.
The company behind brands like Stella Artois and Budweiser announced 29-percent growth in 2019 net profits to $8.09 billion, helped by the $5-billion listing of its Asian subsidiary in Hong Kong in September.
The company’s debt burden – with which it has been struggling since it bought rival SABMiller in 2016 – remains substantial, standing at $95.5 billion at the end of December compared with $104.2 billion a year earlier.
(With AFP Inputs)
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