Carrefour halves dividend due to coronavirus outbreak

PARIS (Reuters) – Carrefour , Europe’s largest retailer, said on Monday it was halving its 2019 dividend and would hold its May 29 annual shareholders meeting behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Given the exceptional context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carrefour’s Board of Directors… decided to reduce by 50% the dividend proposed for 2019… Thus, the dividend will be 0.23 euros per share, versus 0.46 euros per share initially planned and 0.46 euros per share paid in 2019 for 2018,” Carrefour said in a statement.

The annual meeting will be broadcast on Carrefour’s website through the shareholders’ meeting webpage.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Susan Fenton)