Coronavirus impact: 25 March - are any dividends safe?
As more companies announce dividend cuts and draw down on further bank funding it's clear that balance sheets aren't as robust as many suggest
Dividends: are any safe?Companies across all sectors have been forced to cut their dividends in response to the current crisis. Balance sheet strength is being tested to the extreme and even those business with apparent cash reserves are drawing down on credit lines in advance of the barren period ahead. Today saw Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO), the provider of hygiene and pest control services, an activity which would normally be considered as reasonably defensive, postpone its dividend. Rentokil has also drawn down on its bank facility boosting available cash funds to over £650m. We acknowledge these are unprecedented times, but Rentokil’s…