British companies announce £500 million of dividend cuts in one day, as they scramble to preserve cash

British companies announce £500 million of dividend cuts in one day, as they scramble to preserve cash

Many British companies issued updates on trading on Monday, withdrawing earnings guidance, scrapping their dividends and suspending share buy backs, despite pleas from the U.K. regulator that they delay statements as soon as possible to prevent investors from acting on out-of-date information.. British broadcaster ITV and shared office group IWG, were among several companies that issued statements about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on their profitability.. The string of comes less than 48 hours after Britain's financial regulator "strongly requested" that all listed companies delay publishing preliminary results for at least two weeks to allow them to better assess how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the profitability of their businesses.. Late on Saturday, the Financial Conduct Authority said it was writing to all companies with shares traded in London that were intending to publish preliminary financial statements in the next few days and asking them to refrain from issuing them to the market.. "Companies are duty bound to update the market once it becomes clear that their results are likely to be notably ahead or behind forecasts," he said.. "In the absence of information, people will make things up.. The company said, given the evolving nature of