After pandemic, sun sets on the days of dividends

UK dividends are set to fall by a bigger amount than in any other major European country this year, Bloomberg data show.

THE pandemic may leave a permanent mark on European dividends, the main vehicle by which equity investors have made money in the region’s stocks in this century.

Some payouts, halted after the first surge of Covid-19 cases, are starting to come back, but sectors including banking and energy face structural pressures.

That could usher in long-term changes in Europe’s investment landscape, where shareholders tend to be rewarded with dividends rather than the buybacks popular in the US.